The European Union today introduced stricter rules to combat salmonella in poultry and eggs.
Under the new regulations, countries will be set tougher targets for the reduction of salmonella in laying hens, and all member states must eventually carry out vaccinations in flocks with more than a 10 per cent prevalence of the disease.
EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou also hopes to introduce a trade ban on eggs from salmonella-infected flocks as soon as possible but must first get the approval of EU ministers.
Salmonella bacteria are frequently responsible for food-borne illnesses, with over 192,000 human cases reported in the EU in 2004, but many go unreported.
Poultry meat and eggs are among the main sources of salmonella infection in humans, but the bacteria can be found in other food products - including pork, beef, cereals, fruit and vegetables.
The overall target is to reduce salmonella levels in EU flocks to 2 per cent or less.
The annual targets are now a 10 per cent reduction if the prevalence in flocks in the preceding year was below 10 per cent, 20 per cent if it was between 10 and 19 per cent, 30 per cent at the 20-39 per cent level and 40 per cent if the prevalence was over 40 per cent.
Governments have six months to come up with new control procedures to achieve these targets.