Information about salmonella as I remember it. Back in the mid 1980âs (after several large public food poisoning outbreaks) researchers found that salmonella could be transmitted inside poultry eggs. If the hen has a high enough salmonella infection it is possible that this same hen could deposit the bacteria inside the egg (a literal bacterial time bomb). Contamination of eggs before this discovery was always assumed to be from the outside of the egg (through cracks, pores or improper egg cracking techniques).
About salmonella identification. Salmonella belong to a large group of bacteria species that are classified as gram-negative rods. Gram-negative is a simple staining technique (bacteria are either positive or negative) and rod is the shape that the bacteria look like under a microscope. All mammals (even you) have in the gut numerous types of gram-negative bacteria generically termed enterobacteria (ecoil shingella etc). Most look identical under a microscope to each other and to salmonella. To make matters worse, salmonella (and all gram negative bacteria) have different âspeciesâ. Some species of salmonella are harmless and live in the gut along with everybody else. Some are very pathogenic. To find pathogenic salmonella in this mess requires very specific scientific equipment and a lab that knows what to look for. Could you have you chickens tested? Probably, but the cost would be prohibitive to the homeowner.
What to do. Keep an eye on your chickens and keep their environment clean. If things going in and out of your birds look normal then the chances your birds have a high enough infection to transmit it to you are low. If the chickens are kept under filthy conditions, eat dirty food/water and appear unhealthy, you might want to look else ware for your poultry products.
Best method to avoid salmonella or any other enterobacteria is to wash you food, keep it hot or keep it cold and to cook your food. People most susceptible to salmonella (or any other enterobacteria) are the very young, the very old or people with a compromised immune system (HIV, flu, advanced cold etc). If you fall into this category, you might want to avoid raw eggs no matter where they came from. Switch to pasteurized eggs or cooked egg products.
