New egg pasteurization guidelines planned.

Scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Food Processing Center, 143 Food Industry Complex, East Campus, P.O. Box 830928, Lincoln, NE 68583) have completed verification of the most recent egg pasteurization temperatures presented in the USDA's current Egg Pasteurization Manual.

The research was necessary to determine whether the temperature guidelines are adequate to eliminate Salmonella from all uncooked egg products. Scientists' objective was to determine the heat resistance of Salmonella spp. in different liquid egg products, such as sugared and salted whole egg and yolk, egg whites at different pH levels and a variety of blended and scrambled products.

From this research data, investigators ascertained the appropriate pasteurization temperatures that are needed to eliminate Salmonella from different types of raw egg products. This information will be presented in a new Egg Pasteurization Process Manual that is being written for the USDA.

There are numerous strains of Salmonella associated with poultry and poultry products. The Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970 requires that all egg products be made Salmonella-free by using approved pasteurization techniques. These have served the industry and consumers well, and there have been no reported Salmonella outbreaks from pasteurized eggs.

However, significant changes in recent years in the egg industry may impact the effectiveness of current egg pasteurization temperature guidelines. Eggs arrive at the egg-breaking facility more rapidly. Different levels of salt and sugar are added, and new blended and scrambled egg products are appearing in the marketplace.

In the past, we've told you about USDA/ARS researchers (Microbial Food Safety Research Unit, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 1130 Trigg Hall, Princess Anne, MD 21853) who have written a second version of their Poultry Food Access Risk Model, which is a collection of spreadsheet models that predict the exposure and response of consumers to bacterial pathogens originating in poultry. The current version, which is available upon request, contains predictive models and a simulation model.

Scientists designed the simulation model to predict the public health impact of Salmonella and Campylobacter on chicken that is leaving the processing plant. The model predicts how the numbers might increase or decrease over time as a product makes its way through the distribution channel to a consumer's kitchen table. This model is specifically for use with chicken, although it could be adapted to other foods, such as eggs or beef. It also predicts the reaction of consumers to pathogens they might ingest in terms of adverse health outcomes, ranging from infection to death.

The model offers predictions of pathogen load as chickens move from the processing plant to the kitchen table. The model also considers behavior and demographics, that is, the high-risk population, in its assessment of the risk of foodborne disease created by consuming cooked chicken. Users can customize the model by adding their own data, and by adding or removing information to more accurately simulate their poultry operations. If you know the product's storage time and temperature and the food handling conditions, you'll be able to predict changes in the numbers of Salmonella present on a product by using this model.

Further information. On the guidelines: Dianne Peters; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; URL:http://fpc.unl.edu. On the model: Thomas Oscar; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: [e-mail].