118.4—Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) prevention measures.

You must follow the SE prevention measures set forth in this section. In addition, you must have and implement a written SE prevention plan that is specific to each farm where you produce eggs and that includes, at a minimum, the following SE prevention measures:

(a) Pullets. You must procure pullets that are SE monitored or raise pullets under SE monitored conditions. “SE monitored” means the pullets are raised under SE control conditions that prevent SE, including:

(1) Procurement of chicks. Chicks are procured from SE-monitored breeder flocks that meet the National Poultry Improvement Plan's standards for “U.S. S. Enteritidis Clean” status ( 9 CFR 145.23(d)) or equivalent standard;

(2) Environmental testing. (i) The pullet environment is tested for SE when pullets are 14 to 16 weeks of age;

(ii) If the environmental test required in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section is negative, you do not need to perform any additional testing of those birds or their environment until the environmental test at 40 to 45 weeks of age specified in § 118.5(a); and

(iii) If the environmental test required in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section is positive, you must begin egg testing, as specified in § 118.6, within 2 weeks of the start of egg laying.

(3) Cleaning and disinfection. If the environmental test required in paragraph (a)(2) of this section is positive, the pullet environment is cleaned and disinfected, to include:

(i) Removal of all visible manure;

(ii) Dry cleaning the positive pullet house to remove dust, feathers, and old feed; and

(iii) Following cleaning, disinfection of the positive pullet house with spray, aerosol, fumigation, or another appropriate disinfection method.

(b) Biosecurity. As part of this program, you must take steps to ensure that there is no introduction or transfer of SE into or among poultry houses. Among such biosecurity measures you must, at a minimum:

(1) Limit visitors on the farm and in the poultry houses;

(2) Maintain practices that will protect against cross contamination when equipment is moved among poultry houses;

(3) Maintain practices that will protect against cross contamination when persons move between poultry houses;

(4) Prevent stray poultry, wild birds, cats, and other animals from entering poultry houses; and

(5) Not allow employees to keep birds at home.

(1) Monitor for rodents by visual inspection and mechanical traps or glueboards or another appropriate monitoring method and, when monitoring indicates unacceptable rodent activity within a poultry house, use appropriate methods to achieve satisfactory rodent control;

(2) Monitor for flies by spot cards, Scudder grills, or sticky traps or another appropriate monitoring method and, when monitoring indicates unacceptable fly activity within a poultry house, use appropriate methods to achieve satisfactory fly control.

(3) Remove debris within a poultry house and vegetation and debris outside a poultry house that may provide harborage for pests.

(d) Cleaning and disinfection. You must clean and disinfect the poultry house according to these procedures before new laying hens are added to the house, if you have had an environmental test or an egg test that was positive for SE at any point during the life of a flock that was housed in the poultry house prior to depopulation. As part of the cleaning and disinfection procedures, you must:

(1) Remove all visible manure;

(2) Dry clean the positive poultry house to remove dust, feathers, and old feed; and

(3) Following cleaning, disinfect the positive poultry house with spray, aerosol, fumigation, or another appropriate disinfection method.

(e) Refrigeration. You must hold and transport eggs at or below 45 °F ambient temperature beginning 36 hours after time of lay. If the eggs are to be processed as table eggs and are not processed for the ultimate consumer within 36 hours from the time of lay and, therefore, are held and transported as required at or below 45 °F ambient temperature, then you may then hold them at room temperature for no more than 36 hours just prior to processing to allow an equilibration step to temper the eggs.