Eggs are a quick and easy nutritious food, but when handled or prepared incorrectly they can become a quick and easy source of Salmonella, a leading cause of food poisoning.
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To improve traceability of eggs and protect public health in the event of a food poisoning outbreak, from November 26, NSW egg producers need to stamp each egg with a unique identifying mark that will enable them to be easily traced back to the farm where it was laid.
NSW Food Authority CEO Polly Bennett said egg stamping is part of a national standard for eggs that will help to reduce the impact of a food poisoning event.
“Eggs are one of the leading sources of Salmonella, between 2010 and 2014 in NSW there were 40 food poisoning outbreaks associated with eggs, affecting more than 700 people, with many of those requiring hospitalisation,” Ms Bennett said
Ms Bennett said while the national standard commenced in November 2012, NSW producers were given a 2 year period to enable sufficient time to budget for and implement the stamping requirements.
“In order to reduce the burden on the smaller operators who produce less than 1,000 eggs per day, the NSW Food Authority is providing a free egg stamping kit to help them meet the requirement, “she said.
“Further the NSW Government will make regulatory amendments to ensure that small businesses that produce less than 20 dozen eggs a week, those that sell eggs direct from the farm gate and eggs that are used for fundraising purposes are not required to stamp their eggs.”
Ms Bennett said the NSW Food Authority works closely with the egg industry at all points along the supply chain, from paddock to plate, to help reduce the risk of Salmonella poisoning from eggs.
“Traceability delivers benefits to consumers and the egg industry,” she said.
“Any delay in being able to identify the source of an outbreak impacts the entire industry, if the source can’t be immediately traced it could potentially result in a cost to all egg producers through the loss of consumer confidence or having to withdraw safe product from the market place as a precaution if the cause can’t be identified.”
“Illness associated with food poisoning is a major health problem in Australia with around 4.1 million cases per year, with a cost of $375 million to the NSW community in medical expenses and lost productivity.
“This initiative is another example of the NSW Food Authority’s efforts to protect people’s health by reducing the risk of food poisoning.”
Further information about egg stamping can be found at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
