On April 13, Rose Acre Farms voluntarily recalled over 200 million eggs from its Hyde County farm in North Carolina due to a possible Salmonella Braenderup contamination.   Based on reports to the CDC, 22 people have fallen ill to a “unique” strain of Salmonella Braenderup between November 2017 and March 2018.

Eight of the ill individuals reported eating at a chain of restaurants with locations on the east coast with four of those eating menu items containing eggs.   The Hyde County farm was identified as the egg supplier to this restaurant chain.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation at the Hyde County farm on March 26 which lasted over four days and involved approximately 15 investigators.   As with any foodborne illness investigation, the entire plant was swabbed along with all 12 poultry houses at the farm.   The agency was able to isolate the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup from a floor squeegee and around the inedible area of the plant.   The investigation began over a month ago and the farm is still waiting for additional test results from the FDA.   No eggs from this farm have entered the market since the recall was announced.

UEP will provide a comprehensive overview of the FDA investigation and recall for members at our Food Safety Committee Meeting on Thursday, May 17, in Washington, DC.    This will be a “not to miss” session highlighting exactly what can be expected when a farm is implicated in a traceback investigation and the minimal amount of epidemiology linkage necessary to trigger an investigation.   In addition to discussions during the Food Safety Committee Meeting, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine at the FDA, will speak during the Government Relations Committee Meeting on Wednesday, May 16.