Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's egg pasteurization processes on the inactivation of high-pathogenicity avian influenza virus and velogenic Newcastle disease virus in processed egg products.

Globally, 230,662 metric tons of liquid egg products are marketed each year. The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or Newcastle disease in an exporting country can legitimately inhibit trade in eggs and processed egg products; development and validation of pasteurization parameters are essential for safe trade to continue. The HPAI virus (HPAIV) A/chicken/Pennsylvania/1370/1983 (H5N2) and velogenic Newcastle disease virus (vNDV) AMPV-1/chicken/California/S01212676/2002 were inoculated into five egg products and heat treated at various times and temperatures to determine thermal inactivation rates to effect a 5-log viral reduction. For HPAIV and vNDV, the pasteurization processes for fortified, sugared, plain, and salted egg yolk, and homogenized whole egg (HPAIV only) products resulted in >5-log reductions in virus at the lower temperature–longer times of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)–approved Salmonella pasteurization processes. In addition, a >5-log reduction of HPAIV was also...