Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program

Program Requirements

PULLETS

• Purchase chicks from U.S. Sanitation Monitored Salmonella enteritidis negative breeder flocks.
• Obtain samples of chick dropping papers at time of delivery. Sample every 10th chick paper and submit to laboratory for Salmonella enteritidis (SE)
• Sample and culture the manure at 10 to 15 weeks of age. A culture will consist of two samples taken from the manure beneath each row of cages.
• Maintain a defined rodent control and monitoring program.
• Houses with positive manure or chick samples must be cleaned and disinfected before new chicks can be placed

LAYERS

• Purchase and place pullets from an SE monitored flock. Pullets from an unknown or SE monitored flock. Pullets from an unknown or SE positive status house or flock will require that the manure be sampled and cultured 7 to 14 days after placement.
• Sample and culture manure at 29 to 31 weeks of age and again at 44 to 46 weeks of age. A culture of the manure during any test will consist of two samples taken from the manure beneath each row of cages.
• In molted flocks test manure at five to seven weeks following return to feed and follow egg testing procedures if positive.
• Houses with positive manure samples must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between flocks.

EGGS

• Houses with negative manure samples will not be required to test eggs.
• Houses with positive manure samples must test 480 nest run eggs or a combination of all available blood spot eggs plus additional nest run eggs to total 480 eggs every 2 weeks for 4 lots of samples. These eggs will be cultured in pools of 20. If the 4 lots of eggs are negative, a sample of 480 eggs (nest run and blood spot) must be sampled each month for the life of the flock.
• If any egg pools are positive, then all eggs must be diverted for pasteurization or hard cooking. To be able to resume sale of eggs as table eggs, 1,000 eggs must be tested in pools of 20 every 2 weeks for 4 lots of samples and test negative. Alternatively, if less than 50% of the environmentals and no more than one egg pool were positive, 4,000 eggs may be tested at one time. Following return to the table egg market, 480 eggs (nest run and blood spot) must be sampled each month for the life of the flock.
• Egg testing will eliminate the need for further environmental testing.
• As additional experience is gained, environmental and egg testing requirements may be modified.

FORCE MOLTED FLOCKS

• Test manure at five to seven weeks following return to feed and follow egg testing procedures if positive.

RODENT CONTROL

• A defined rodent control, and record monitoring program must be maintained at all times.

BIO-SECURITY

• All participants must maintain an acceptable biosecurity program.

REFRIGERATION

• Eggs must be kept under refrigeration as specified in the Pennsylvania law.

Processing Plant

• Processing plants packing eggs bearing the PEQAP "Tested Quality" Seal must meet all applicable USDA, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and PEQAP program requirements. These address plant an employee sanitation, refrigeration, egg washing and sanitation, water testing, packing materials, carton coding and records.

Participating producers and processors are:

• Demonstrating their concern about food safety.
• Producing a quality egg which helps to assure consumer confidence in eggs
• Addressing the demands of buyers for eggs produced in a food safety program
• Reducing potential foodborne illness liability claims.
• May have insurance premiums reduced

What Regulatory Officals Say

In a 15 member Review Team Report by the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USDA dated January 18, 1997 it was stated: "PEQAP can serve as a prototype for the egg industry in the development of egg quality assurance programs and the industry should adopt quality assurance programs based on interventions developed in the Pennsylvania Pilot Project and used in the Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program (PEQAP).

Statement of Purpose

The Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program (PEQAP) is a voluntary industry program intended to minimize Salmonella enteritidis (SE) contamination of chicken (shell) eggs. Although this program does not guarantee shell eggs to be free of SE contamination, the program does assure commitment of the producer and processor to implementation of those management and monitoring practices most likely to prevent SE contamination. Basic preventive measures include placement of SE clean chicks, intensive rodent control, cleaning and disinfecting between flocks, and environmental monitoring of pullet and layer houses with continuous testing of eggs from any environmentally positive houses. Positive eggs are diverted for pasteurization. Eggs must be kept refrigerated. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture provides oversight, technical, administrative, and financial support to this program. The Pennsylvania Department of Health provides technical advice regarding public health implications. PEQAP participants are assuring the public that they are taking every reasonable precaution to assure the safety of shell eggs.