National Pasteurized Eggs Expands Access To Safe Pasteurized Shell Eggs

By opening a new plant in South Dakota

National Pasteurized Eggs (NPE) has opened a new plant that reportedly more than doubles its production and expands access to eggs free from dangerous egg-related Salmonella-enteritidis.

The company said that it has opened the plant in tandem with the FDA's quest to reduce Salmonella-related food poisoning.

Reportedly, NPE supplies pasteurized shell eggs to food service operators including restaurants, hospitals, entertainment venues and hotels, as well as more than 30 retail chains such as Publix Supermarkets, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, Roundy's Supermarkets, Copps Food Centers, Rainbow Grocery, Jewel-Osco, HEB Supermarkets, Bristol Farms and Piggly Wiggly.

The company said that the new plant is located in Flandreau, South Dakota, and is expected to produce more than 240m safe pasteurized shell eggs annually, marketed under the Davidson's Safest Choice brand name and marked with its trademarked red circle P.

The company said that the pasteurized shell eggs are processed using an FDA approved pasteurization process recognized by the US Department of Agriculture to inactivate Salmonella and avian influenza virus.

The company claims that it will pasteurize more than one million salmonella-free shell eggs daily between the new plant and its corporate headquarters plant outside Chicago.

The company said that the Flandreau facility, which is expected to add up to 60 new jobs to South Dakota, is being operated in conjunction with Dakota Layers, a cooperative egg laying farm founded by more than 120 farm families from South Dakota.

Greg West, president of National Pasteurized Eggs, said: The pasteurized egg category is the fastest growing segment in the egg industry, and food safety conscious hotels, restaurants and hospitals that serve breakfast are making the proactive choice to use the very safest eggs possible, regardless of whether or not they serve immune-compromised populations. Food safety is also a driving force for consumers at grocery stores, and their requests for safe pasteurized shell eggs have resulted in nine new retail chains adding our product in this quarter alone.