A2B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 12,1990
Poultry Seminar Held
(Continued from Pago A 1)
contain bacteria. Even if the shell
becomes contaminated from con
tact with cages, feces, and parts of
the bird or during handling, the
egg’s natural defense fights the
bacteria.
• The porcs of a freshly laid egg
are blocked by a coating called the
cuticle. It blocks the egg pores and
protects the egg up to 100 hours
after it is hatched.
• If that cuticle breaks down and
bacteria does get into the shell
pores, the virus must first penetrate
two membranes that inhibit bacter
ial growth before it can reach the
egg white.
• The pH level of the egg white
has a high' alkaline level, which
also serves as a defense since it
does not have the nutrients neces
sary for bacterial growth.
•The egg’s final defense is a
dense layer that contains bacterial
mtibodies that surrounds the egg
/oik before the salmonella bacteria
:an penetrate the yolk.
Industry’s defense
In addition to the natural
defenses of the egg, the poultry
industry is taking additional steps
to insure that eggs are free of bac
teria.
When eggs reach the processing
plant, the eggs are washed and
sanitized. Cultured eggs for sal
monella show only a 0-4 percent
positive count before washing and
a mere 0 to. 1 percent after washing
and sanitation.
Eggs are also kept refrigerated
on the farm, in the plant, and dur
ing truck transportation.
Blood tests are also given to
breeder chickens and a strict moni
toring program of both birds and
eggs is observed.
“Eggs in Lancaster County are
safe to eat,” Schwartz maintained.
“And the safest egg to eat is right
out of the shell.”
For salmonella to grow, four
things are needed. It must have a
food source, moisture, favorable
temperature, and a time period.
Cases where salmonella has
caused illness have revealed that
poor food handling practices were
present. In one case, chocolate
mousse sat unrefrigerated for three
days. In another, a lunch truck had
a stove that did not heat above 100
degrees. ,
An estimated 5,277 eggs are
produced every minute in Lancas
ter County and feed 9.5 million
people. Paul Sauder, of Sauder’s
Penn Dutch Eggs, said, “You have
a 100 times greater chance of being
electrocuted in your home than in
Home economists listen as Paul Sauder explains the egg
processing operation during a tour of the Sauder Penn
Dutch Eggs facilities on May 7.
getting salmonella poisoning from
eggs.”
He asked, “If egg contamination
is so bad, why don’t we have sick
people up and down the East
Coast?”
Egg handling tips
Home economists were encour
aged to teach their students that
eggs are perfectly safe to eat when
the following handling practices
are observed:
• Buy only refrigerated eggs
not eggs stacked in store aisles.
• Refrigerate eggs at 40 degrees
or below as soon as possible after
purchase.
• Eggs should always be cooked.
Never eat raw eggs.
• Foods containing eggs should
always be refrigerated at a temper
ature of 40 degrees or below. Keep
hot foods above 140 degrees.
• Do not leave broken-out eggs
or egg dishes at room temperature
more than one hour, including pre
paration and serves.
• Do not use cracked or broken
eggs.
• Always wash hands with soap
and water before preparing food.
• Thoroughly wash dishes,
countertops, and cutting boards
that have been in contact with raw
meat or eggs.
Plant tour
Home economists toured Saud
er’s egg processing plant to
observe the company’s special
emphasis placed on egg safety and
to leant about new egg products.
To ensure proper egg processing
methods at the plant, a quality con
trol inspector and an U.S.D.A.
inspector are on duty during the
plant’s three shifts that .work
around the clock.
Despite the industry’s strict
safety standards, Sauder said that
there is no law against serving
unrefngerated eggs to the public.
He said that too often restaurant
personnel let eggs sit at room
temperature overnight and for
hours next to a hot grill because
they believe eggs fry better if held
at room temperature.
One of the new products that the
company is trying is hard-cooking
eggs for restaurants and
consumers.
William Murray, in charge of
product development for Sauder’s,
explained that the process is very
tricky and that few companies sell
hard-cooked eggs.
The plant steams the eggs at 180
degrees before moving them to a
cooling tank. Hard-cooked eggs
are kept in the shell for consumer
use, but are put through a peeling
About 90 home economists attended the annual banquet sponsored by the Lancas
ter County Poultry Association and received a carton of hard-cooked eggs from Saud
er Penn Dutch Eggs. From left: Bill Murry, product development for Sauders; Ken
Fisher, sales manager for Sauders; Pennsylvania Poultry Queen Anita Meek; Kim
Smith, and Melissa Garber, Poultry Queen alternates,
machine and then packed in plastic
bags for food service operations
Recycling methods
Although some people prefer a
biodegradable egg carton, Sauder
Grange Seeks To Eliminate Widow Tax
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) — Officials with the Pennsyl
vania State Grange testitified
before the state Senate Finance
Committee recently in support of
eliminating a portion of the pre
sent inheritance tax law.
David Hanks, a Grange mem
ber and Lancaster County farmer,
said, “We believe that the present
inheritance tax structure places an
unnecessary burden on the trans
fer of a family farm to a surviving
spouse.”
By subjecting transfers of farm
property to an unnecessary tax the
Grange feels the state imposes a
substantial toll on the continued
operation of a farm and inevitably
contributes to the further loss of
KUTZTOWN, PA “What’s
new?” is a question that many vis
itors to this summer’s 41st Annual
Folk Festival will ask. However,
“new” is not what is important at
this Pennsylvania Dutch celebra
tion, which will be held from
Saturday, June 30, through Sun
day, July 8, 1990. Traditions,
keeping customs and folkways
alive, and showing visitors old
fashioned methods are the impor
tant things at the Kutztown Folk
Festival.
Each afternoon, on the Main
Stage, many people bring aspects
of the unique Pennsylvania Dutch
culture to life. The programs begin
with a half-hour performance by
the Heidelberg Polk Band; then,
Jane Stinsmen hosts a program
filled with samples of delicious
Pennsylvania Dutch foods and the
cooks that create them. Next, visi
tors may enjoy over an hour of
Pennsylvania Dutch music, songs,
and humor by Leroy Heffentrager
and his Dutch Band. They are
joined by Mel Horst, as “Jakey
Budderschnip,” who entertains
visitors with Pennsylvania Dutch
dialect stories and jokes. The
programs continue as Carl C.
Groff auctions a variety of articles
at a Pennsylvania Dutch “sale.”
The afternoon’s entertainment
concludes when the Brintzen
hoff’s join Leroy for more music
and folk songs.
said it is the biggest joke on con
sumers. Biodegradable products
are not biodegradable without
water and air, which do not exist in
sealed landfills.
agricultural land in the state.
The Grange, which represents
more than 42,000 farmers and rur
al Pennsylvanians, supports
Senate Bills 776 and 1444, which
would create a spousal exemption
in the state’s inheritance tax.
“The farm is usually the princi
pal asset of a married couple and,
'generally, the only source of
revenue,” Hanks said. “The
imposition of inheritance tax on
the transfer of farm property to a
surviving spouse who has worked
decades on the farm imposes a dif
ficult tax burden at a most vulner
able time.”
Often, when one spouse dies,
the “widow’s tax” requires, in
effect, the survivor to “buy back”
Kutztown Festival Set
Of course, visitors may want to
spend some time at the Seminar
Stage as well. There, John Stins
men brings many aspects of the
Pennsylvania Dutch culture to vis
itors’ attention. Whether the sub
ject is metal or wood-working,
quilting, the “Plain” people, or
music, the hosts of these programs
are exports in their fields and are
willing to answer any questions
that visitors might have.
Twenty, daily, special events
also deserve some attention. Visi
tors may see Grandmother’s kitch
en and how she made her cookies;
they may see glass blown or metal
cast; they may leant the Pennsyl
vania Dutch dialect or about herb
gardens or about honey bees; they
may see a sheep shearing or a
horseshoeing or watch the animals
in the Animal Lore Tents; or they
may join the “congregation” at the
Old Oley Union Church to sing
some of the old-time favorite
hymns.
Visitors will find over 200
craftsmen who demonstrate how
to make their wares. Skills that
belong to the 18th & 19th Centu
ries have found a home in the 20th
Century at the Kutztown Folk Fes
tival. Quilting, wood-working,
metal-working, basket weaving,
and pottery-making are just a few
' of die time-honored skills visitors
will see here.
Three weeks ago the FDA gave
authority to have foam egg cartons
recycled into egg cartons. ‘The
problem is getting the egg cartons
back for recycling,” Sauder said.
the family farm from the estate.
Although the transfer of farm
property held in joint ownership is
not subject to tax, such an owner
ship is not always possible or
practical.
Certainly, not aH of Pennsylva
nia’s 55,000 farmers are know
ledgeable of potential inheritance
tax problems as/they go about
their routine farm matters, such as
registering livestock or financing
a tractor.
“The death of a spouse is
always a difficult, emotional
experience and certainly is not an
appropriate time for the state to
impose a tax on the transfer of a
farm, livestock or farm equipment
to a grieving widow,” Hanks said.
So, come and bring your family
to-taste our delicious food, hear
our music, and see our craftsmen
at work. It is an experience that
will bring back memories and
make new ones.
Acreage
Reporting
Deadline
LIONVILLE (Chester Co.)
The Chester and Delaware County
Office of the USDA-Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation
Service recently announced dead
lines for reporting planted 1990
crop acreages.
All farmers in both counties are
encouraged to visit the office and
report acreages. Acreage reports
are used for computing deficiency
payments, maintaining crop
acreage bases, and establishing
crop history. Deadlines, as
announced, are as follows:
Small grains: June IS, Com,
Soybeans, Hay, ACR and CU:
July 15.
The 1990 Farm Bill is sche
duled to be completed by the end
of July. Producers should be
reminded of the importance of
having bases established as it is a
possibility new programs will be
available. Crops may not be
reported until planted.