Chief Veterinary Officer praises British egg producers

The Government’s new chief veterinary officer has praised the efforts of British egg producers in tackling salmonella, and says they are on course to meet Government targets for the further reduction of salmonella levels over the next three years.

Nigel Gibbens, who became chief veterinary officer in May this year, said in an interview with Ranger that the UK industry had responded well to the challenges of salmonella. He said the industry had been "very proactive in recent years in applying measures such as vaccination and biosecurity to reduce the level of salmonella in the national flock. Many operators in the poultry industry have responded to concerns about salmonella by introducing tight biosecurity measures to minimise the possibility of the introduction of infection onto their premises and to reduce the risk of cross contamination if an infection is introduced," he said.

He said that the control of salmonella by UK producers compared very well with other EU countries.

In February this year the Government launched a salmonella national control programme amongst commercial laying flocks. The launch of this programme followed a 12-month survey which established that salmonella enteridis (SE) or salmonella typhimurium (ST) - the two most important types of the bacteria as far as public health is concerned - were present on eight per cent of laying flock holdings. This figure was amongst the lowest recorded by major egg producing states in the EU.

The national control programme is intended to cut levels still further and Nigel Gibbens says the programme seems to be working well so far despite some concerns.

"We acknowledge that the industry is concerned about the requirement to heat treat eggs intended for human consumption from flocks confirmed as SE or ST positive after January 1 2009.

The UK was able to achieve some amendments to the EU regulation governing the running of the programme which will help the industry and intends to implement the requirements as flexibly as possible whilst remaining consistent with the purpose of the legislation and the protection of the food chain," he said.

"Early indications from the results of operator testing are that producers have made good preparations for sampling requirements and should be on course to meet the reduction target. Official testing by Animal Health started in October 2008, but it is too early to assess the results from this."

The aim of the national control programme is to reduce levels of SE and ST in laying flocks by 10 per cent each year over the next three years. From 2009 eggs from flocks confirmed to be infected with these bacteria will not be able to be sold as fresh shell eggs. They will not be able to be used for human consumption unless heat treated or pasteurised.

Keepers of laying flocks are required to follow a sampling and testing programme to identify the occurrence of salmonella on farm. "We would ask that they comply with this," said Nigel Gibbens. "They should also co-operate with those carrying out annual (or other official) tests on their flocks, where those take place."

He said that Defra made provision for advice to producers on best practice for salmonella control measures such as biosecurity, disinfection and rodent control. This year the Veterinary Laboratories Agency had undertaken a substantial research programme to gather evidence which could be used to provide egg producers with the best practice for control measures, following survey work carried out with laying flocks in 2004-05.

Current field research had achieved considerable success with producers who had put in place the necessary interventions to eliminate salmonella from their farms. Advice would continue to be available from the VLA on the detailed application of remedial action which had been shown to be effective in controlling the problem - rodent control, biosecurity, effective vaccination and cleansing and disinfection.

"I would also urge layer operators who require further information on the NCP to contact their local divisional veterinary manager," said Nigel Gibbens.

He said that similar control programmes were being undertaken in other EU countries, although reduction targets may be different from those of the UK because of individual circumstances.

"The reduction targets are dependent on the national prevalence established during their own baseline survey. The higher the prevalence, the greater the level of annual reduction that must be achieved," he said.

"The control of salmonella by UK producers in layers and breeders compares very well with other EU member states. Defra’s implementation of the layers national control programme reflects our view that it could enable the UK layer flock sector to build on its success in the protection of human health and benefit from producers across the EU operating to standards which are consistent and comparable."

Nigel Gibbens is 50 years old and qualified as a veterinary surgeon from London University in 1981. He spent three years in mixed veterinary practice in Derbyshire before training for a masters degree in tropical veterinary medicine at Edinburgh University.

He worked in Government veterinary services in Belize and Yemen for five years, then in December 1990 joined the UK state veterinary service as a field veterinary officer. He moved to the central animal health policy group in 1996 and worked on international trade for eight years. This was followed by TSE research, surveillance and controls, animal welfare and, most recently, international relations co-ordination for Defra’s food and farming group.

Since taking up his post as chief veterinary officer, he has spent time meeting members of the farming community. He recently spent a day meeting representatives of the British Egg Industry Council and being shown around examples of both caged and free range sites.

He says it is important for Defra to work closely with the industry and other government departments and agencies to develop and implement NCPs when targets for reduction have been agreed. The intention was for industry bodies and government to work in partnership on the production of the control programmes and this approach had been supported by industry in subsequent working group meetings.

"We want to see a thriving free range egg sector in the UK but we can only achieve this with the help of producers, retailers and consumers," he said. "All the advice and feedback which you provide to us is hugely important, as is your co-operation on biosecurity measures. I look forward to working closely with you for a successful and healthy future."