Recycling Contaminated Eggs

By John Ballard

I made the mistake of glancing at a local paper a couple days ago which said some of those contaminated eggs may still find a way to your table. I tried to forget, but the thought keeps nagging at me. The evening news keeps talking about filthy chicken farms where live mice run through the pens and liquid fecal matter seeps. Yeech!

You think all those birds laying contaminated eggs are gonna get emergency care from a friendly local vet? Do you also believe Easter Bunnies lay eggs?

Despite a recall of more than 550 million potentially salmonella tainted eggs, the two farms at the heart of the controversy have found a way to use those eggs. In other words even if you don�t buy cartons of eggs with the recalled code on them, you may be surprised to find that these eggs may still make it into your home.

The plan is to turn the eggs into the liquid egg product that is used in everything from desserts such as cookies and cakes, to egg substitute products and even pet food. Both Wright County Eggs and Hillandale Farms will be sending their egg supplies to what are known as �breaking plants� to be processed and distributed.

The FDA and animal science experts say that the pasteurization process indisputably kills the salmonella bacteria and that once pasteurized the eggs will be safe for consumption. Dr. Theresa Lavergne an associate professor of animal sciences at Louisiana State University said: We can be confident that the pasteurized eggs are safe�. Officials from the U.S. Department of agriculture say that the suspect eggs will be segregated from other eggs and will undergo a second inspection to make sure that no trace of salmonella remains.

That makes me feel all better. How about you?
One expert said "there could be a public perception problem."  Ya think?

Ilina Ewen of Raleigh, N.C. , a mother of two who blogs on Foodie Mama says, �To me, even if the scientists say it�s fine, it makes me not trust it. Scientists once said nicotine was fine, too.�

Most Americans would be surprised to learn that the FDA is not authorized to order a food recall. Thanks to the amazing belief that markets will self-regulate, product recalls are done by the companies involved.

FDA does not have mandatory recall authority (i.e., the authority to order a manufacturer and/or distributor to recall a product), except under limited circumstances related to certain devices, biological products, human tissue intended for transplantation, and infant formula.