Recovery of Salmonella and Escherichia coli from commercial egg shells and effect
of translucency on bacterial penetration in eggs
This experiment was conducted to study the prevalence of Salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli).
from the
surface of egg shells, egg shell membranes or pores, and internal contents from unwashed eggs collected
from commercial caged layer farms in Australia.Egg shell swabs, shell crush and egg internal contents (yolk
and albumen) of an individual egg were processed for bacteriological examination.
Salmonella spp. were not
detected from any of the egg shell surfaces, egg shell crush or egg internal contents.
Thirty five E. coli isolates
were isolated from the egg shell surface.
Ten E. coli strains were also isolated from shell crush.