Italy Notifies Salmonella Typhimurium at a Laying Hen Farm and Recalls Organic Eggs Distributed in Four Other Countries

The European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) validated on October 21, 2026 alert notification 2026.9367, sent by Italy's Ministry of Health and the Piedmont region, over Salmonella Typhimurium at a laying hen farm. The affected product is organic eggs of Italian origin, in the eggs and egg products category, and the risk was classified as potentially serious. The measures adopted by Italy were withdrawal from the market and recall of the eggs in consumers' hands.

According to the record, the sample was taken on September 28 in an official control, with a result showing the presence of Salmonella Typhimurium. The eggs were sold loose, at room temperature, with expiry dates between October 26 and November 11, 2026. The notification indicates distribution in France, Germany and Monaco. France reported the measures it adopted on the same day, October 21, and on October 23 the Emilia-Romagna region added the outcome of its investigations and also indicated distribution in San Marino. The record does not report associated cases of illness or detail quantities.

Enteritidis and Typhimurium are the two Salmonella serotypes that European regulations set as targets in control programs for laying hens, because of their weight in human salmonellosis. Enteritidis is the one most associated with contamination of the inside of the egg, while Typhimurium usually reaches mainly the shell through contact with feces and the henhouse environment, and from there it can pass to the contents when the egg is cracked or through poor handling. When a flock tests positive for either of the two, its eggs cannot be sold as fresh table eggs and can only go to industry with a treatment that eliminates the bacterium. Thorough cooking inactivates Salmonella; the risk is concentrated in raw or undercooked preparations, such as homemade mayonnaise or some desserts.

For producers and packing centers, the case shows that a positive at the farm turns into a consumer recall in several countries when the eggs have already left with weeks of shelf life ahead. Control combines official sampling and own checks of the flock and the henhouse environment with verification of the eggs and of the packing center surfaces. TAAG's Elevia 1.1 kit detects Salmonella spp. by RT-qPCR with the AiGOR platform, and its datasheet includes the egg industry and the pasteurized liquid egg matrix; shell eggs are not listed as a validated matrix and the kit identifies the genus, not the serotype, so the association is indirect. Serotyping and confirmation of presumptive results are a matter for the reference method.