Salmonella outbreak traced to eggs in Belgium
Around 70 Salmonella infections have been linked to eating eggs in Belgium.
At the start of 2025, the National Reference Centre for Salmonella at Sciensano detected an increase in reports of a certain type of Salmonella. An investigation to determine the origin of the rise was launched by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), the Flemish Department Zorg and Sciensano, the Belgian national public health institute.
Results showed that eggs were the cause of the salmonellosis outbreak. The products concerned have been recalled from consumers.
Between the beginning of this year and Feb. 17, Sciensano was able to link 67 cases of salmonellosis to the outbreak, mainly in Flanders.
The Flemish Department Zorg and Sciensano asked patients about food consumption in the days before the onset of symptoms, as well as where food was purchased. Egg consumption turned out to be a common factor.
Joris Moonens, spokesperson for the Flemish Department Zorg, said: “The information provided by patients is essential for the investigation of the epidemic. The Flemish Department Zorg and Sciensano would like to thank the patients who cooperated. We hope that all sick patients will recover quickly.”
Moonens told Food Safety News that the outbreak was caused by Salmonella Enteritidis.
Of the 67 patients, 37 were women and 30 were men. It is not known exactly how many cases needed hospital treatment but among people over 65 years old, a high proportion had to be hospitalized. No deaths have been recorded.
Fourteen patients were under the age of 10, 16 were aged 10 to 20, 21 were aged 20 to 65 and 16 were older than 65.
Salmonella found at farm
FASFC traced the products and visited a laying hen farm to take samples. The same strain of Salmonella as in the patients was found in these samples, confirming the suspected source.
Affected eggs have an expiry date between Jan. 27 and March 24, 2025 and are stamped with the code “1-BE-306401”.
Depo-Ei CV is withdrawing the free range eggs with this code from sale and recalling them from consumers. They were sold at different outlets from the start of January to Feb. 24, 2025.
Eggs have been blocked in the laying hen farm and at customer premises. Consumers in possession of these eggs are asked not to consume them and to return them to the point of sale.
Kathy Brison, spokesperson for FASFC, said: “Thanks to the rapid action and constructive collaboration with the Flemish Department Zorg and Sciensano, we were able to identify the cause of the contamination. The Salmonella bacteria is found both in the eggs and on the shell. It is important to cook the eggs thoroughly before eating them and to wash your hands regularly during preparation and especially after breaking them.”
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