Salmonella|The incorrect salmonella result caused considerable losses for organic chicken. The Food Agency has requested an explanation from the laboratory that performed the test.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
More than 4,000 chickens were destroyed in a Lappeenranta chicken farm due to an incorrect salmonella test.
The positive salmonella test later turned out to be incorrect.
The chicken keepers are demanding compensation for the financial damages caused by the incident.
In Lappeenranta In Kuorttinen’s organic chicken farm, at the end of May, more than 4,000 chickens had to be killed unnecessarily due to an incorrect salmonella test.
The positive salmonella test later turned out to be false, and the chickens did not actually have salmonella. He was the first to tell about the incident South Saimaa.
Chicken keepers Kaisa and Janne Rautakannel say that the chain of events started at the beginning of May, when they took samples from the chickens that were part of normal self-monitoring.
Salmonella was suspected in one of the farm’s chickens. In the confirmation sample made by the Food Agency, the sample was found to be positive again.
The next step was the salmonella-related restructuring plan. As a result, 4,314 chickens were taken to be gassed. According to Rautakannelte, the chickens were in the best egg-laying period.
In addition, 100,000 eggs were taken to the packing plant for pasteurization at the cost of freight. One batch of chicken was also not received, because the chicken was not allowed to sell or receive anything for three weeks.
May at the end, the farm was again allowed to sell eggs from clean chickens to consumers with the help of an exemption permit and under certain conditions.
However, the real surprise came on June 12.
Eurofins Scientific Finland, which acted as the sample laboratory, sent an email stating that the laboratory result was incorrect. There was never any salmonella on the farm.
“The incorrect result was apparently caused by contamination from another salmonella-positive sample,” the message said.
In the message, the company apologized for the error and the inconvenience caused. It said that it had started an investigation into the occurrence of the error, as well as corrective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar cases in the future.
About the incident caused enormous financial damage.
“This is another million, which, in the end, this will cause us costs only in lost profit,” says Janne Rautakannel.
Rautakantelet have sent a complaint to the laboratory company, in which they demand compensation for all indirect and direct costs.
A preliminary claim for damages has been sent, and it will be supplemented after the calculations and expenses are confirmed.
According to the complaint response sent by the company on Thursday last week, only the sampling price would be refunded tenfold. The compensation amount would be 293.50 euros.
HS has seen the exchange of messages between the company and Rautakantelei.
Eurofins Scientific Finland did not respond to HS’s contact requests. Managing director Lasse Mäkelä posted earlier Ilta-Sanomthat “laboratory assignments are confidential and the company cannot comment on individual cases”.
Iron candelabra have been in contact with, among others, the interest organization of agricultural and forestry entrepreneurs MTK, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari to Essayah.
They hope for a change in the legislation, whereby after the first positive salmonella sample, the veterinarian would take official new samples and the sample would be sent to another laboratory. This could avoid incorrect salmonella results.
Rautakantelee points out that the issue affects all poultry, pig and cattle farms in Finland.
The couple describes the chain of events as very stressful.
“It feels like when you survive one pull of the rug, another rug is already pulled from under your feet from the other direction,” describes Kaisa Rautakannel.
“Yes, all the areas of despair have been covered here,” Janne Rautakannel states.
Food Agency: Every year, salmonella is detected in a few chickens or turkeys
Food Agency investigate the case. According to the agency’s information, there have been no previous cases in Finland where animals had to be euthanized due to a salmonella result resulting from cross-contamination of the sample in the laboratory.
Eurofins Scientific Finland’s Helsinki office is an official laboratory designated by the Food Agency, says the head of the food microbiology division Annukka Markkula to HS by e-mail.
How are laboratories monitored?
The Finnish Food Agency supervises the activities of the designated salmonella laboratories, for example by annually monitoring their success in inter-laboratory quality assurance studies, i.e. comparative measurements.
In addition, the Food Agency monitors the validity of the competence assessment outside the laboratory and compliance with the notification obligation regarding salmonella tests. In addition, the laboratory’s control measures can be initiated, for example, on the basis of matters brought up in connection with other controls or audits, or on the basis of a complaint received by the Food Agency.
Does the incident trigger any measures at the Food Agency? What kind of?
According to Markkula, the Food Agency has asked Eurofins Scientific Finland’s Helsinki laboratory for an explanation of the course of events and the corrective measures carried out and planned by the laboratory. Based on the laboratory’s report, the Food Agency assesses whether the laboratory still meets the requirements for designation and whether the corrective measures it has taken are sufficient.
In addition, the Food Agency has asked the organizer of the comparison measurement between laboratories to send the bacterial strain used in the measurement to the Food Agency for a more detailed investigation, in order to determine whether the salmonella strain found in the chicken sample is the same as in the reference measurement sample processed in the laboratory at the same time.
How common is salmonella in farm animals in Finland?
Salmonella infection is an animal disease in cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys controlled under the Animal Diseases Act. In these animal species, salmonella cases are found in a total of 30 holdings each year. The annual variation in the number of cases is quite large, from about 20 cases to just under 50 cases. An average of 5 of the cases detected each year are detected with chickens and turkeys.
How could similar cases be prevented in the future?
The legislation does not require the taking of confirmation samples after a positive salmonella result, and confirmation samples are not taken routinely. It is very unlikely that the microbe would have been evenly distributed in the subject being examined. Therefore, it is possible to get a negative result from the verification sample, even if the object being examined is actually positive. It is typical for salmonella that the bacteria is not evenly distributed in the flock and the birds do not excrete the salmonella bacteria evenly, which is why it is possible to get a negative result from a positive flock. If confirmation samples were always taken after a positive salmonella result, measures related to salmonella control would be delayed, and some party would incur costs.
“The Food Agency advises to act in salmonella testing in accordance with the current legislation,” says Markkula when asked about possible changes in testing procedures.
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