Salmonella found in chicken feed

WASHINGTON – Food and Drug Administration officials say they have found positive samples of salmonella that link two Iowa farms to a massive egg recall.

Investigators found salmonella in chicken feed at Wright County Egg that was used by that farm and also Hillandale Farms, the FDA said. Authorities also found additional samples of salmonella in other locations at Wright County Egg. More than 550 million eggs from the two farms were recalled this month after they were linked to salmonella poisoning in several states.

One of the positive samples for salmonella was found in a feed ingredient sold to Wright County Egg from a third party supplier, Central Bi-Products, according to Wright County Egg, raising new questions as to whether other egg farms also could have received contaminated feed. The FDA could not confirm that the feed element came from a third party but so far has said it doesn’t believe the salmonella outbreak will expand beyond the two farms.

Also Thursday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there could now be as many as 1,470 illnesses linked to the outbreak, about 200 more than previously thought.

Sherri McGarry of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition said the salmonella found at Wright County Egg matches the fingerprint of the salmonella found in many of those who were sickened. She said the tests indicate that contaminated feed is a source of the outbreak but possibly not the only source.

McGarry and other FDA officials emphasized in a briefing for reporters that the agency’s investigation is ongoing, and that they do not yet know how the feed became contaminated. Investigators are analyzing as many as 600 samples from 24 locations at the two farms.

Wright County Egg said one of the feed ingredients from Central Bi-Products was held separately in a bin that was tested by FDA officials. Wright County Egg spokeswoman Hinda Mitchell said Central Bi-Products has no ties to the two farms and they receive the feed ingredient, which contains meat and bone meal, from a distributor.

A company listed as Central Bi-Products in Redwood Falls, Minn., that produces “poultry raw material” did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Wright County Egg’s statement also asserted that a positive environmental test does not mean eggs from that barn would have salmonella. Mitchell said the company had tested some eggs from one of the barns where salmonella was found since July, and those eggs did not test positive for salmonella. The company began testing under new rules put in place for the egg industry this summer.

The feed mill where the salmonella was found operates as part of the Wright County Egg facility and also provides feed to Hillandale Farms. Officials said they are not yet sure whether the feed came to the farm contaminated or was contaminated at the farms. They said there is no evidence at this time that the feed went to any other farms.

The number of salmonella illnesses, which can be life-threatening, is expected to increase. No deaths have been reported due to this outbreak.

CDC epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Braden said this is the largest outbreak of this strain of salmonella since the start of the agency’s surveillance of outbreaks in the late 1970s.

Thoroughly cooking eggs can kill the bacteria. But health officials are recommending people throw away the recalled eggs.