Lay Hong Berhad’s Jeram farms have been declared free of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)

By ANIS FARHANAH MALEK
anisfarhanah@dagangnews.com

KUALA LUMPUR 22 March – All Lay Hong Berhad’s (Lay Hong) Jeram farms have been declared free of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE), after a test conducted by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) returned with negative results for SE. 

Therefore, it effectively lifts the suspension of egg supply from Jeram 1 - CES 008 farm today, the group said in a press release today.

Lay Hong Executive Director, Datuk Yap Chor How said, it welcome the negative results for SE in all of their farms as it proves that all their eggs are free of SE contamination. 

“Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to DVS Selangor and DVS Putrajaya for a swift investigation over the matter.

“The results also showed that it is unlikely that the SE contamination discovered recently occurred at any of our farms,” said him in the same statement.

This is a very comprehensive investigation conducted by DVS, which includes testing on the eggs, environment chicken faeces, cloacal swap, feed, water and others from each farm at the lab in DVS Salak Tinggi. 

The testings were completed after more than a week of suspension since SE was found in the eggs exported from Jeram Farm 1 - CES 008 to Singapore.   

“As mentioned by DVS, SE contamination did not occur within our farms and could possibly happen along with the supply to the marketing chain. We will leave this for the authority to further investigate. Going forward, we will continue to work with the DVS to strengthen our farm control and monitoring,” Chor How added.

Following the negative results of the SE testing, DVS will initiate engagement with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) in regards to the matter. 

Chor How said that the group hopes that Singapore will uplift the export suspension as soon as possible for its Jeram 1 farm.

Also, in reference to a recent announcement by Singapore SFA and AEON Co. (M) Berhad for the recall of eggs coded CEM 014, the group would like to address to the public that it is not Lay Hong’ eggs or from any of their farms.

The group will remain committed to ensuring food safety and will remain accountable and transparent to the public in regards to its operations. 

“We would like to apologise to our loyal customer and stakeholder for any misunderstanding and emotional distress. Customer safety is our top priority. All Lay Hong brands of eggs are safe for human consumption,” he said. - DagangNews.com