27 August 2010
FDA has collected nearly 600 samples from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa during this investigation. The majority of these samples are still undergoing laboratory testing and results are pending. To date, FDA's test results of six environmental samples identified Salmonella with PFGE patterns indistinguishable from the outbreak strain. These six positive samples were collected from manure, as well as traffic areas such as walkways, equipment, other surfaces in and around the farm, and from the feed mill at Wright County Egg in Iowa. The feed was provided to pullets (young female chickens or hens) raised at Wright County Egg facilities in Iowa. Pullets are distributed to all premises at Wright County Egg in Iowa and Hillandale Farms in Iowa. These findings indicate that Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa are the likely sources of the contaminated shell eggs. FDA has not found that this feed was distributed to any companies other than Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa. Feed ingredients may not have been the originating point for the salmonella outbreak.