20 August 2026
European public health authorities and food safety regulators are responding to a widespread outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis linked to a Belgian egg producer. According to public health data, the cluster has expanded from 236 confirmed cases in May to at least 300 reported infections in Belgium, with epidemiologists noting that the total burden is likely underestimated due to turnaround times required for whole-genome sequencing (WGS) verification.
An investigation by the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC/FAVV) traced the source of infection to poultry producer Laerco BV. Environmental sampling successfully isolated the matching epidemic strain from barn dust samples collected inside the facility. Regulators initially identified contamination in a single poultry house in May, prompting localized measures. Subsequent follow-up testing revealed the pathogen had breached containment into an adjacent barn. FASFC enforced a total operational shutdown and strict biosecurity quarantine across the entire production facility.
Due to intra-community trade channels across the European Union, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) disseminated alerts across eight additional member states: France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
