German firm at centre of Salmonella outbreak can sell eggs again
A ruling from Bayerische Verwaltungsgerichtshof (BayVGH/ the Bavarian Administrative Court) said Bayern Ei can sell eggs from its farm in Niederharthausen subject to conditions including three negative Salmonella findings.
It amends a decision from the Verwaltungsgerichts Regensburg (Administrative Court of Regensburg) in September last year.
Landesamtes für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit and Veterinäramt des Landratsamts Straubing-Bogen will do the testing and monitor results.
BayVGH considered that the official ban was largely based on the allegations against the former CEO, Stefan Pohlmann, who is in custody and not its new staff.
Bayerische Verwaltungsgerichtshof said a ruling on other farms is still pending.
It has led to a debate on how the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection handled the issue.
EU-wide investigation
Contaminated eggs led to illnesses in Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the UK, said the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA ) in 2014.
They said the cases in Austria, France and Germany shared an epidemiological link to the same egg packaging centre in southern Germany.
Isolates from contaminated eggs in France from the implicated German egg packaging centre shared similar molecular characteristics to human cases.
In August 2014, Germany published on EPIS-FWD the list of countries to which the eggs from the implicated packaging centre had been distributed: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, France, UK, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary.
Public Health England (PHE) reported 287 cases and 198 of these could be plausibly linked to eggs supplied by one company.
S. Enteritidis is the most frequently reported Salmonella serovar in the EU and it is frequently associated with consumption of raw/under-cooked eggs or egg products.
