Cornell University experts comment on recall of 380 million eggs

Cornell University experts on farm animals and food safety comment on the recall of at least 380 million eggs in the past week due to concerns over salmonella contamination.

Martin Wiedmann is a doctor of veterinary medicine and a professor of food science in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is an expert on food-borne diseases and pathogens, including salmonella and its transmission in food from farm animals to humans.

Wiedmann says:

"Salmonella causes 1.4 million cases in the U.S each year; that's somewhat more than 100,000 cases every month. This is an important outbreak, but salmonella causes lots of cases beyond this outbreak.

"The key is to look at all sources. While eggs are an important source of human salmonellosis, many people get sick due to salmonella from a variety of other sources. We need to attack the problem at all levels and at all transmission pathways. Eggs are only one part of the story."

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Patrick McDonough is a professor of microbiology, an expert in health effects and control of salmonella, and a clinical bacteriologist/mycologist in the New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine.

McDonough says:

"We used to think that just washing the egg shell, and using Grade A shell eggs, would keep us safe. However, we know that infected hens do not show clinical signs and that the infection is harbored in the ovaries. When the shell is laid down, it actually covers the yolk, the albumen and the infection.

"If all works as it is supposed to, we would not have salmonella enteritidis outbreaks. Because we know the risks and how to control, prevent or mitigate as appropriate, the number of outbreaks should be able to be decreased. This is especially important as we have a growing, aging population and these people are one of the groups especially at risk."

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Craig Altier is a doctor of veterinary medicine and a professor of molecular biology. He is an expert on salmonella in animals and its transmission to humans, and director of the clinical microbiology lab at the New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine.

Altier says:

"The opportunity to control food-borne infections exists at many levels. There are programs to reduce contamination of food at national and state levels, but it is equally important that individuals handle food safely. We all need to participate in the effort to stop the spread of food-borne infections."