During May, an error in the Eurofins Scientific Finland Oy laboratory led to a false positive diagnosis of Salmonella Oranienburg.  According to press reports, an investigation showed that the farm submission was contaminated by a reference sample. This was confirmed by applying whole genome sequencing.

It is questioned why a flock of 4,000 egg-producing hens was depopulated without a confirmatory test.  Since S. Oranienburg is not a vertically-transmitted pathogen, it is inexplicable why the flock was depopulated unless at the end of its production cycle.  News reports also noted the diversion of 100,000 eggs to pasteurization.  If these eggs were derived from the subject flock of 4,000 hens, the quantity represented the production over a complete month, inconsistent with an apparent rapid decision to depopulate without re-testing.