Spain rejects UK Salmonella claims

Spanish authorities say that the UK's figures on Salmonella rates in Spanish eggs are out of date, inaccurate, and commercially driven.

The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) has discredited a UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) report which states that one in every eight Spanish egg boxes tested positive for Salmonella in a survey of non-UK eggs.

A spokesperson from MAPA argued that the FSA report was based on samples taken in 2005-2006 from one packing centre in Valladolid which packages eggs from only three farms - out of a total of 1,100 farms that export eggs.

The reports are based on information from the FSA, which claims that while one egg out of every thirty boxes of eggs imported is infected, this rises to one in every eight boxes for Spain.

The Spanish Agricultrual ministry pointed out that Spain is the only country in the EU to adopt new Salmonella prevention measures that have led to a decline in Salmonella prevalence rates to 16% compared to 40% in the UK.

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Editor WorldPoultry