The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an inspection report detailing findings and describing the ways that salmonella could have spread through the many complexes of the two Iowa companies, according to the New York Times.
The egg recall began on August 13, 2010 and "involves more than half a billion eggs from the Iowa operations of two leading egg producers, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. About 1,500 reported cases of Salmonella enteritidis have been linked to tainted eggs since the spring -- the largest known outbreak associated with that strain of salmonella."
The inspection report, available here, shows numerous violations of food safety rules. The report "portrays areas of filth and poor sanitation at both operations, including many instances of rodents, wild birds or hens escaped from cages -- all of which can carry salmonella -- appearing to have had free run of the facilities."
The report cited mice in the barns, "abundant rodent holes and gaps in doors, siding and foundations where rodents could enter." Additionally, it described "pits beneath laying houses where chicken manure was piled four to eight feet high" and "hens that had escaped from laying cages tracking through the manure."
Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for food for the FDA, said that FDA inspectors "would visit all of the 600 major egg-producing facilities in the country over the next 15 months. Those farms, with 50,000 or more hens each, represent about 80 percent of nationwide egg production."
To read the New York Times story, click here.
Posted: 8/31/2010
