[Federal Register: July 13, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 133)]
[Notices]               
[Page 37512-37513]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jy98-30]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-035N]

 
Salmonella Enteritidis Risk Assessment: Shell Eggs and Egg 
Products; Availability of Document

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In December 1996, the Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS) began a comprehensive risk assessment of Salmonella enterica 
serotype Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)) in response to an 
increasing number of human illnesses associated with the consumption of 
shell eggs and egg products. The final report on risk assessment is now 
available on the FSIS website and in the FSIS Docket Room. This 
document summarizes the risk assessment process from the development of 
a conceptual framework through the incorporation of available data into 
a comprehensive quantitative model, which characterizes the public 
health effects associated with the consumption of SE-infected shell 
eggs and egg products.

ADDRESSES: The document is available electronically on the FSIS website 
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ophs/risk/index.htm. Hard copies of the 
executive summary are available in the FSIS Docket Room, Room 102, 
Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ruth A. Etzel, Director, 
Epidemiology and Risk Assessment Division, Office of Public Health and 
Science, by telephone at (202) 501-7472 or by FAX at (202) 501-6982.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The risk assessment model consists of five 
modules. The Egg Production Module estimates the number of eggs 
produced that are infected (or internally contaminated) with SE. The 
Shell Module, the Egg Products Module, and

[[Page 37513]]

the Preparation and Consumption Module estimate the increase or 
decrease in the numbers of SE organisms in eggs or egg products during 
storage, transportation, processing, and preparation. The Public Health 
Module then calculates the incidences of illness and four clinical 
outcomes (recovery without treatment, recovery after treatment by a 
physician, hospitalization, and mortality) and cases of reactive 
arthritis associated with consuming SE positive eggs.
    The baseline model for shell eggs presented in the executive 
summary simulates an average production of 46.8 billion shell eggs per 
year, 2.3 million of them contaminated with SE. The model predicts that 
consumption of these eggs would result in a mean of 661,633 cases of 
human illnesses per year within a range of 126,374 to 1.7 million cases 
annually. It is estimated that about 94 percent of these cases recover 
without medical care, 5 percent consult a physician, 0.5 percent are 
hospitalized, and 0.05 percent of the cases result in death.
    The risk assessment model can be continually refined and updated 
for use in future risk assessments for shell eggs and egg products. 
FSIS plans to use the risk assessment data to conduct cost-
effectiveness studies and cost-benefit analyses.

    Done, at Washington, DC, on July 5, 1998.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-18466 Filed 7-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P