Campylobacter jejuni contamination of eggs

Contamination of commercial table eggs with a fecal suspension containing 4.4 X 10(6) CFU/g Campylobacter jejuni resulted in shell penetration in 3/70 eggs and recovery of the organism from homogenized egg contents in 1/70 eggs. Viability of C. jejuni on the shell surface was retained for only 16 hours, attributed to desiccation of the fecal suspension. A field survey of three commercial laying farms and their associated egg-packing plants showed that hens demonstrated to be fecal shedders of C. jejuni (12% to 62% incidence) did not produce infected eggs. The organism could not be detected in the environment of the packing plant, including grading machinery and effluent.