A statement from Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker:
“Ensuring a safe food supply is our top priority here at the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Accordingly, we protect consumers by maintaining aggressive food safety programs on both the retail and farm levels to help prevent foodborne illness, such as Salmonella Enteritidis (SE). Today, I want to reassure consumers that New York produced eggs are safe to consume.
According to FDA reports, the eggs implicated in this nationwide recall were solely produced in Iowa, and none of the recalled eggs have been sold or shipped to New York markets. We trust those statements to be true; however, to err on the side of caution, our fleet of food safety inspectors remain on the lookout for recalled eggs at the retail level. To date, none of the recalled eggs have been found in New York State, nor have any human cases of SE been reported to the New York State Department of Health in relation to this recall.
At the farm level, egg producers can participate in the New York State Egg Quality Assurance Program to help halt the introduction of SE on the farm. While voluntary, the vast majority of all the shell eggs produced in New York State are from certified farms. In addition, FDA recently enacted new regulations that require farms with more than 3,000 laying hens to conduct routine surveillance for SE, a model that resembles our New York program and one that our producers have been following since 1997.
As a result of the pro-active work done on New York egg farms, coupled with food safety measures taken at the retail level, there have been no human cases of SE related to New York produced eggs in over a decade. We are committed to keep up this diligent effort in order to ensure a safe and wholesome product for all New Yorkers.”
