Contamination of eggs in India and egg standards

According to a research study, Indian poultry farms lack the technical knowhow of European nations and also follow poor rearing practices.

There are chances that they could be using contaminated feeds or using feed ingredients without any knowledge of their nutritive value which can effect egg production.

Also, unhygienic rearing practices and lack of quality control measures can easily lead to egg contamination. It is not just the poultry farmers but traders, exporters and even consumers are unaware of the health risks of egg contamination.

Developed countries take measures to sterilise the egg surface from contamination especially from Salmonella enteritidis. In India, no such measures are taken and risk of egg contamination increases.

India has become a leading poultry producer but the potential to reach the global markets is not very bright as the quality of the products does not meet international standards. Indian eggs are often rejected for export because of the presence of chemical residues on egg shells.

Recently, a number of eggs in the domestic market, in retail shops were collected and tested and were found to contain large amounts of salmonella both on the shell and inside the egg.

However, fresh eggs collected from farms indicated less salmonella contamination. Since most consumers buy eggs from retail outlets, the chances of contracting salmonella infection increases. Lack of food safety procedures, improper storage facilities and poor transportation are some of the other causes of deterioration in eggs.

The FSSAI has proposed standards for fresh eggs in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2017. These standards will come into force once they are approved. The FSSAI has laid down parameters which state that the eggshells must be free of blood rings, must not be soiled or have faecal matter and they must not be cracked or leaking.

FSSAI has laid down the amount of water, protein, fats and carbohydrates that eggs must contain as also the hygienic parameters and hygienic controls, like time and temperature, that must be observed during production, processing and handling which includes sorting, grading, washing, drying, treatment, packing, storage and distribution to point of consumption.

FSSAI has laid emphasis on the storage conditions like moisture and temperature so as to reduce microbial contamination as microbial pathogens are a risk to human health.