Bacteria in chicken feed linked to egg salmonella

WASHINGTON - Bacteria found in chicken feed used at two Iowa farms has been linked to the salmonella outbreak that prompted the recall of more than a half-billion contaminated eggs, U.S. regulators said yesterday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it would keep investigating to determine whether the bacteria originated in the chicken feed or arrived there from another source.

"We do not know at this point how, when or where this feed may have been contaminated," said Jeff Farrar, FDA associate commissioner for food protection. "That's part of our ongoing investigation and we'll work very hard to try and determine that."

The contaminated feed was produced at a mill that is part of the Wright County Egg operation and also went out to the second farm linked to the outbreak, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, FDA said.

The FDA collected about 600 samples from 24 possible sources of contamination on the two farms, said Sherri McGarry, food-borne outbreak coordinator.

Several samples from Wright County Egg tested positive for salmonella, including feed, manure swabs and environmental swabs from a barn.

"The sense that the investigators have is that there's evidence of contamination of the farm. While they have found it in the feed, they are not concluding any type of cause-and-effect relationship," said FDA principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein.

The DNA in Wright County Egg farm samples matched the DNA of the bacteria in the outbreak, but feed ingredients may not have been the originating point for the salmonella outbreak.

"This may well just be that the birds got in and contaminated or there's just contamination in the facility overall," said Joshua Sharfstein, FDA principal deputy commissioner.

The massive egg recalls came weeks after a new FDA rule took effect that tightened safety rules at large producers and required testing in poultry houses for salmonella bacteria. But the egg rule did not specifically address testing feed for contamination, FDA officials said.

The outbreak, largest since the 1970s, may be linked to almost 2,400 cases of salmonella-related illnesses around the country since May 1, although at least 930 such cases are reported during this time frame on an average year.

The Iowa farms do not sell eggs in New York. And state officials said New York began a program 13 years ago designed to prevent such contamination.