YLE reports that the food safety board, Evira, said on 22 March that new cases of salmonella had been detected at three more egg farms, bringing the total recently discovered infected facilities to six piggeries and 23 egg farms.

The previous day, it had announced new cases had been found at four more piggeries and one more egg farm.

The latest findings bring those totals to six and 23, respectively. Four of the pig farms are located in Ostrobothnia and two further east in the Häme region.

In addition, another strain of salmonella has been found at five meat-producing chicken farms in Ostrobothnia, western Finland. The strain found at these poultry farms is the Salmonella Montevideo. The type found at the pig and egg farms and in fodder sold by Raisio Feeds Ltd is Salmonella Tennessee.

"All of the infected broiler chickens have been destroyed, and none have ended up on the market," says Evira Veterinary Officer, Tarja Pohjanvirta. Last year, salmonella was found on three broiler chicken farms and one turkey farm.

Samples have been taken from 770 farms that received deliveries from Raisio Feeds recently. Two thirds are from pig farms, the rest from chicken farms.

Officials say that consumers do not have to worry about consuming eggs as the infection does not penetrate the shell. However, hands should be washed well after handling eggs when preparing food. Similarly, officials are allying any fears that consumers have about eating chicken.

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