Hygienic quality and freshness of shell eggs collected at retail outlets in Italy

Shell eggs sampled at retail outlets in two large Italian cities were tested to assess their freshness, food safety and the presence of veterinary drug residues. Some samples were found to be irregular due to lack of compliance with freshness requirements or shells were tainted by micro-cracks and foreign material. The most severe case of non-compliance was due to the presence of veterinary drug residues that either exceeded either the maximum acceptable residue limits or drugs that were prohibited.