Safe Handling of Eggs and Products Containing Eggs

The Department of Health has developed a number of documents associated with the implementation of Regulatory Guideline No.5: The preparation of raw egg-based product: Consistent approach to be adopted by enforcement agencies (PDF 1309KB).

Role of local government enforcement agencies

Enforcement agencies and their authorised officers play a crucial role in educating food businesses about safe food handling practices when using raw eggs and egg products. As part of food safety monitoring and surveillance programs authorised officers are requested to prioritise the assessment of raw egg handling controls.

Salmonella is the principal microorganism of human health concern associated with the consumption of eggs and egg products and has been associated with a number of food-borne illness outbreaks in WA. There is a potential risk of illness from consumption of raw or lightly-cooked eggs, or consumption of uncooked foods containing raw egg. Unhygienic practices used by food handlers during preparation of food containing egg have been reported as contributing factors to the risk of salmonellosis.

When assessing a food business authorised officers should check the business is taking steps to:

• check for unacceptable eggs (cracked or dirty eggs) during receival, storage and processing steps
• during processing, demonstrating that pathogen reduction to safe levels is occurring or
  • remove raw egg processing by using safer alternatives and or
  • substituting raw egg with pasteruirsed egg product or another ingredient
• check that individual eggs and egg products are marked with a ;unique identifier.

Following an assessment if there are reasonable grounds to believe the processing of raw egg based product constitutes a serious danger to public health, the enforcement agencies should take reasonable steps to mitigate or prevent the danger from occurring, and educate the food business about safe practices.

The resources below provides a range of documents to support enforcement agencies prioritise the assessment of raw egg handling controls.

Document	Description
Regulatory Guideline No. 5: The preparation of raw egg-based products: Consistent approach to be adopted by enforcement agencies (PDF 1309KB)	The Regulatory Guideline has been issued to assist enforcement agencies on how to both assess and address compliance requirements in relation to food safety risks associated with raw egg including processing of raw egg-based products.
Safe Handling of Eggs and Products Containing Eggs for food businesses (PDF 73KB) or Safe handling of raw eggs and egg products	The Food Unit Notice provides both enforcement agencies and food businesses with guidance on how best to safely handle eggs and products containing eggs in WA. This includes: products containing raw or lightly cooked eggs cross contamination considerations risk management information for enforcement agencies examples of pasteurised egg products available in the market in WA
Compliance Strategy - Handling and Sale of Raw Egg (PDF 350KB)	The Compliance Strategy briefly outlines the rationale and means by which enforcement agencies are to approach compliance matters associated with raw egg use in WA.
Food business - Egg Use Assessment Form (PDF 1MB)	This form can be used to collect information about food business egg handling, storage and processing activities. It can assist with outbreak investigations related to eggs or as part of a food businesses routine assessment by authorised officers.
Advisory Letter for Council (Word 56KB)	The Advisory Letter offers enforcement agencies a consistent means to raise awareness of risks associated with raw egg-based products which are handled as part of a food business.
Template Prohibition Order - Processing of Raw Egg Products (Word 54KB)	The Template is available for use by enforcement agencies where it is necessary to prevent or mitigate a serious danger to public health, or where an improvement notice has been issued which is specific to the processing of raw egg products.