31 August 2010
In the wake of the largest recall of eggs in history after a nationwide salmonella outbreak, New York State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh joined food safety advocates recently to announce legislation that will require farmers to vaccinate hens against Salmonella.
Over half a billion eggs were recalled earlier this month after contaminated eggs led to a salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands of Americans. The FDA issued new safety rules for eggs that went into effect last month but did not require salmonella vaccination of hens, even though industry experts and food safety advocates recommend the measure to protect consumers against the health threat. Salmonella vaccination by British farmers has successfully reduced the number of salmonella cases by 96 percent in England and Wales over the past decade. In Israel it is mandatory to vaccinate commercial layers against Salmonella. In the United States, approximately 142,000 people contract salmonella each year from contaminated eggs.
Nancy Romer, founding member of the Brooklyn Food Coalition and a Professor of Psychology at Brooklyn College, said, “We need to require vaccination of egg-producing chickens and that all eggs sold in New York State come from vaccinated chickens".