SUMMARYOver 5700 hens eggs from 15 flocks naturally infected with Salmonella enteritidis were examined individually for the presence of the organism in either egg contents or on shells. Thirty-two eggs (0-6 %) were positive in the contents. In the majority, levels of contamination were low. Three eggs, however, were found to contain many thousands of cells. In eggs where it was possible to identify the site of contamination, the albumen was more frequently positive than the yolk. Storage at room temperature had no significant effect on the prevalence of salmonellapositive eggs but those held for more than 21 days were more likely (P < 0-01) to be heavily contaminated. In batches of eggs where both shells and contents were examined, I -% were positive on the former site and 0-9 % in the latter.

Between June 1990 and July 1991, broiler chickens from 49 flocks from 23 farms were examined for the carriage of Campylobacter jejuni at slaughter. Thirty-seven flocks (76%) were campylobacter-positive. Prevalence of campylobacter-colonization was not associated with any of a variety of factors such as water source and broiler house floor structure. There was also no apparent seasonal variation in carriage. Investigations on one farm indicated that dipping boots in disinfectant before workers entered broiler houses either delayed or prevented colonization with C. jejuni.

Salmonella enteritidis phage type 4 was recovered significantly more frequently from the crops of birds which had been denied food for 24 hours than from birds allowed food ad libitum. There was, however, no difference in its isolation rate from tissues. Within one hour of infection, S enteritidis could be recovered from a variety of tissues, including the oviduct, of a small proportion of the infected birds.

An inter‐laboratory comparison of three methods for the detection of thermotolerant campylobacters is described. One of two proposed by the International Standards Organisation was significantly better for detecting campylobacters in minced chicken skin naturally contaminated at levels of either 2 or 10 cells per 10 g, but involved extensive manipulations not likely to be well received in a busy laboratory. This method yielded 18% false negative results compared with 48–54% for the other two but also gave 8% false positive results. Pre‐enrichment of samples with a gradual addition of antibiotics to suppress competing organisms seemed to improve the recovery of campylobacters, as did a non‐selective blood agar isolation medium used in combination with a membrane filtration technique.