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FDA Inspectors Document Unsanitary Conditions at Egg Farms Linked to Salmonella Poisoning

The Wall Street Journal is reporting on an inspection report by Food and Drug Administration inspectors who visited the Wright County Egg farm in Iowa at the center of a nationwide salmonella food poisoning epidemic.  The report only indicates inspector observations, and is not meant to be taken as a final ruling on any violations of agency rules.  However, the kind of conditions that the inspectors found should concern any California food poisoning lawyer.

The Food and Drug Administration inspectors found the same kinds of conditions in both the farms that have been linked to the salmonella food poisoning epidemic.  Both Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farm have been linked to the food poisoning scandal, and between them, have recalled more than 500 million eggs.  During their inspections, the Food And Drug Administration inspectors found filthy, unsanitary and unhygienic conditions.

The inspectors found non–chicken feathers, including those of pigeons and wild birds, near egg laying houses.

The inspectors found large dumps of chicken manure.  In some cases, the dumps were between 4 feet and 8 feet in height, and were kept below some of the laying houses.  The massive amounts of manure actually pushed out the access doors, leaving the manure pits open to access by wildlife.

They also found live and dead mice inside the houses.

The conditions inside the laying houses were dismal.  These were overridden by dead and live flies.

The conditions at the manure pits were equally bad.  The inspectors found tons of dead and live flies in the pits in the laying houses.

Salmonella contamination was found at several places in Wright County Egg and Quality Egg Facilities.  Some of the contamination was found in bone meal used in feed.  However, the Food and Drug Administration has no way of knowing the source of the salmonella contamination that was responsible for the food poisoning outbreak.

Conditions were no better at Hillandale Farms.  There, the Food and Drug Administration inspectors found unclosed rodent holes and rodents freely accessing the facility.  They found pools of standing water and leaking manure on the floor.  At Hillandale Farm, salmonella was found in an egg washing station.

The Food and Drug Administration has been sufficiently concerned at the conditions at the farms as well as the egg recalls, to announce that it will soon embark on a nationwide inspection of all facilities that are covered under the new egg safety laws.  In July, the agency’s new egg safety laws went into effect, and these will impact approximately 50,000 hens and an estimated 80% of the country’s egg production.

The agency will soon begin its inspections, and will prioritize these depending on which facilities are at are the most risk for hazards.  Because this is the first time inspections will be conducted after the new egg safety rules went into effect, it’s not easy to tell whether the conditions found at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms will be found in other farms nationwide.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of food poisoning. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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