Signs guaranteeing shoppers salmonella-free eggs have been removed from supermarkets. The notices, sent to retailers last Thursday by Corby Rock Eggs Ltd, said: "We have an ongoing Salmonella Monitoring Programme in place, which guarantees our eggs as salmonella-free." The notice was posted in some Superquinn, Tesco and smaller retail stores, according to Corby Rock's managing director, Mr Seamus Kelly.
Ensuring eggs are salmonella free is difficult if not impossible, said Dr Noel McCarthy, epidemiologist at the Food Safety Authority. "You can't guarantee it a hundred per cent but you can get very close to it by sourcing your hens from salmonella-free flocks and by testing flocks before and during their productive life." One hundred per cent guarantees were not advisable, said Mr Liam Butler of the Irish Egg Association. "No one is offering a guarantee on eggs. You can't make that statement; you can say salmonella-tested."
The Corby Rock announcement was sent to supermarkets in response to recent outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis in Donegal and Wicklow that were traced back to eggs from Northern Ireland. Consumers had expressed concern to supermarkets about eggs in the Republic and the producer sought to reassure them of its stringent controls.