Egg Brands Recalled in Canada over Salmonella Contamination

In Canada, distinct egg brands have been recalled because of the potential for microbial contamination by the Salmonella bacterium.
Golden Valley, Compliments, Foremost, IGA and Western Family eggs were recollected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ⁽¹⁾ on Saturday, January 18. Eggs of various sizes and packaging are included in the recall. However, only certain egg lot numbers have been impacted. Apparently, the CFIA website provides a list of lot numbers.

As per CFIA, the following measures are advised to be taken by the inhabitants:

• Get in touch with your doctor if you believe that eating a recalled product caused your illness.

• Verify whether any of your products are recalled.

• Avoid using, selling, distributing, serving, or consuming recalled goods.

• Products that are recalled ought to be thrown away or brought back to the store where they were bought.

• Customers are encouraged to get in touch with their retailer if they are uncertain whether they have bought any of the recalled goods.

What is Salmonella infection?

Salmonella is the bacterium that causes salmonella infections, a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhea. It comes in a variety of forms.
Human or animal excrement can spread the salmonella bacteria to other humans or animals. Animals are frequently the source of contaminated foods. They consist of milk, eggs, shellfish, beef, and poultry.

However, any meal can get infected, including some unwashed fruits and vegetables. The only species of salmonella that is exclusively found in humans is Salmonella typhi. Only tainted food or drink can spread it from person to person. Typhoid fever is a dangerous and potentially fatal sickness that it can induce. Antibiotics are frequently needed for treatment. Only a small percentage of patients may experience improved health following treatment.

Symptoms

The majority of people who contract Salmonella recover without treatment after 4–7 days, but some people—particularly children under the age of five, adults 65 and older, and those with compromised immune systems—may develop more serious illnesses that necessitate medical attention or hospitalization. The majority of Salmonella infections begin with diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

Food tainted with Salmonella can still cause illness even if it doesn't appear or smell spoilt. Serious and occasionally fatal infections can strike older persons, pregnant women, young children, and those with compromised immune systems. Short-term symptoms like fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, cramping in the abdomen, and diarrhea can occur in healthy persons. Severe arthritis may be one of the long-term consequences.

How do the eggs get contaminated?

Both the inside and the outside of the egg's shell might get infected. Permeation through the eggshell or direct contamination of the egg contents prior to oviposition are two ways that internal contamination can arise from an infection of the reproductive organs. Before migrating to the yolk, the bacteria must first contend with antibacterial elements in the albumen and vitelline membranes. The second way, which comes from the infection of reproductive organs with SE (vertical transmission), is by direct contamination of the yolk, albumen, eggshell membranes, or eggshells prior to oviposition. ⁽²⁾

References:

1. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-brands-shell-eggs-recalled-due-salmonella

2. Inne Gantois, Richard Ducatelle, Frank Pasmans, Freddy Haesebrouck, Richard Gast, Tom J. Humphrey, Filip Van Immerseel, Mechanisms of egg contamination by Salmonella Enteritidis, FEMS Microbiology Reviews, Volume 33, Issue 4, July 2009, Pages 718–738, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00161.x

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Vasudha Handa/MSM)