Problems when selling your backyard eggs

[JessyGii]

I had a problem today. One of my customers who bought duck eggs from me called me and said she has been vomiting for two days and claims my eggs gave her bird flu. she has bought duck eggs from me many times before and never had a problem. I told her I was extremely sorry and that I have never had a problem ever before with someone getting sick. we eat the eggs from them daily and have not got sick. I keep clean nesting boxes and I have a healthy happy free range flock. We do everything pretty much organically here so I don't want to put anything to harsh on the shells. we wash all the eggs that will be sold for eating well with warm water, dry them, package and then refrigerate until they are picked up by the customer. I sell them and collect them up daily so no eggs sit for loner then a week. I am not sure what to do now I am scared to sell another egg. and I am scared this lady will go and tell everyone my flock and eggs are sick of bird flu, which they are not

should I include labels in the egg cartons stating to wash again before use? I don't want people to be afraid to eat my eggs. I had several other people buy from me within the same week she did and nobody else said they had problems, 3 of them called to let me know they loved them and wanted more. has anyone else had problems like this when selling eggs to the public? do you label your cartons? do you wash them, not wash them, or sanitize with a soap?

 

[bobbi-j]

She got sick from something else. Here is a link on the "bird flu":

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/flu-guide/understanding-bird-flu

And some information from that link:

What is avian or bird flu?

Scientists are concerned that the H5N1strain of bird or avian flu could spread across the globe and become the next flu pandemic, sickening and killing scores of people.
The H5N1 bird flu virus is spread when wild birds pass the virus along to birds such as chickens or ducks that are being raised for human consumption. While the wild birds do not seem to be affected by the virus, the livestock that contract the virus get very sick and many die.
Typically, avian or bird flu is not passed from birds to humans. However, in the past ten years, there have been hundreds of cases of bird flu in humans, and scientists believe that, if it finds a way to spread from person to person, there could be a flu pandemic. Most cases of H5N1 infection are thought to have occurred as a result of direct or close contact with sick or infected poultry. That's because there is no natural immunity from bird flu in humans. Your body cannot develop antibodies, and, typically, hospitalization is required. Because of this, anyone is at risk for avian or bird flu, and that's one thing that raises the concern about a flu pandemic.
What is the flu, anyway?
Influenza -- commonly called "flu" -- is a contagious viral infection that infects the nose, throat and lungs and normally occurs in late fall and winter months. Unlike a common cold, the flu virus has the potential to cause serious flu complications. Each year, the flu kills around 36,000 Americans and puts any age group at risk for flu complications.
Spreading through the upper respiratory tract and sometimes invading the lungs, the flu virus can make you very ill for a week or two -- even longer if you get flu complications such as pneumonia or have a chronic medical condition.
How is the flu virus spread?

The flu virus is typically spread from person to person through coughsand sneezes -- that is through "droplets" from the respiratory system. The flu normally enters through the nose and settles inside the respiratory tract.
What are the symptoms of the flu?
Unlike a common cold, the flu hits hard and fast with symptoms of fever (usually high), headache, extreme fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, and stomach symptoms, which are more common in children than in adults

So, either the woman is a crackpot, or she's trying to scare you for some reason. She could, however, have contracted salmonella from eating undercooked eggs, but she could also have just ended up with a stomach virus of some sort. Whether you continue to sell eggs or not is entirely your choice. Sadly, there are always people out there (and it sounds like this person is very "out there") who are looking for reasons to cause trouble.

 

[Scatterknit]

She is just assuming that she got it from the eggs. Bird flu - seriously?

FYI in case she gets lawsuit happy, it is very very difficult to prove a food poisoning case. She would have to have some of the food that she ate and have it analyzed to prove it. You can get food poisoning from almost anything. It's very difficult to pin it to just one thing. If she starts to give you trouble, call your liability insurance company right away. An insurance company can deny coverage for a claim if you don't contact them immediately. They jump in to investigate and with a case like that, the sooner they can investigate, the better.

 

[JessyGii]

Thank you for the information about the avian flu. and yes this lady was not very nice I thought it was kind of rude for her just to call me up and automatically assume I gave her bird flu. I did explain to her that the strain of bird flu that was going around was just spreading through birds not people and that there wasn't bird flu even in Ohio. Then she said well you must have given me old eggs and I said no way not old because they were laid that day. Then she says well you must have given me rotten eggs and I asked her did the eggs have a strange color or bad smell? she said no they looked normal, but I think one egg had something wrong with it because it had too yolks. then I had to try to explain to her two yolks are common that It is not a bad egg because of two yolks. I even told her I would give her a new doz. eggs no charge but she said she wasn't going to buy anymore because she still assumed I poisoned her with my bad eggs.

 

[MBK Farm]

As far as bird flu from duck eggs...LOL, not likely.

Now, as far as violently ill from them...not so uncommon. I can eat duck eggs fried hard for breakfast, but the wife, not so much. She had to leave work early due to both ends getting going simultaniously She thought for sure she had food poisoning, but it was the duck eggs. She reacted another time to them as well.

Evidently, some people react violently to duck eggs. A quick Google search "sick from duck eggs" shows it's not such an uncommon problem.

 

[JessyGii]

Yea I know some people have egg allergies could egg allergies pop up out of nowhere? because she has eaten my duck eggs 3 other times before and didn't have a problem until now. I am thinking about maybe creating labels for my cartons that say something like wash before use and don't under cook or something.

 

[bobbi-j]

I think it's more of a case of the eggs being so much more rich than chicken eggs (at least that's what I've heard) in Mrs. MBK's situation. Labels probably wouldn't hurt.

 

[donrae]

I wouldn't change anything. Don't sell eggs to her (or really, have anything to do with her again, she's kinda psycho and doesn't need to be in your life) and make your other customers happy. There's nothing wrong with your product, it was a faulty customer

 

[MBK Farm]

Yea I know some people have egg allergies could egg allergies pop up out of nowhere? because she has eaten my duck eggs 3 other times before and didn't have a problem until now. I am thinking about maybe creating labels for my cartons that say something like wash before use and don't under cook or something.

No, not egg allergy. Like bobbi-j stated, it's more about their content and richness. Some people have a hard time with that.

As far as food allergies go, in general, yes allergies can develop at any time. As people get older allergies actually tend to get worse. Case in point with Mrs. MBK (again,

), she has developed a raging coconut allergy over the past ten years or so. Also palm oil gives her a hard time to the point where she will break out in hives

. This is part of the reason we are so into local food, to KNOW WHAT THE HELL WE'RE EATING. So, in your customer's case, even though in the past duck eggs might not have been a problem, they now could be. Also, perhaps your duck feed has changed or they are free ranging more and their eggs have gotten richer (better). I don't know if particular duck breed has anything to do with it, but if you have multiple breeds one might be richer than another. Lots of variables.

With selling food to the population at large there are some risks you have to accept. If you are in serious angst over this perhaps getting a random lot tested for pathogens such as salmonella and what not might be in order to make sure you're safe and can demonstrate that fact. Also, if you are in this as a serious business or more than a minor financial concern, protecting yourself with some insurance and proper business entity is also not a bad idea. I don't know what the law is in Ohio for selling eggs, but I know here in Florida there are laws, inspections and permits required. I'd make sure you're following all of them (if there are any) that apply to your situation in your area. Just some thoughts. In the end, if your eggs were fresh and clean, your customer probably had the not so uncommon duck egg reaction.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Lady sounds like a crazy hyperchondriac... She doesn't even know what "bird flu" is.

I think adding labels to the carton would be a good idea and getting tested for certain diseases, just so you have "proof" in case another crazy person thinks your eggs made them sick.