LJ_Reloaded
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If there had been a few surprise FDA/OSHA investigations at this farm we would probably not have had that whole egg fiasco.
Ham Murabi defines freedom as the right to see his kids poisoned to death by someone else's negligence.
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/...ampaign=Feed:+GreenFields+(Green+Fields+Blog)
FDA chief says DeCoster farm unsafe
The head of the Food and Drug Administration says the DeCoster farms in Iowa were not operating safely before a salmonella outbreak that led to the recall of more than half a billion eggs.
“There’s no question that these farms that are involved in the recall were not operating with the standards of practice that we consider responsible,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told CNN Sunday night.
Hamburg did not elaborate on the problems that FDA investigators have found, but agency officials said last week that the outbreak could have been prevented if regulations that took effect July 9 had been in place earlier. The regulations include testing, sanitation and refrigeration requirements for egg operations and allow the FDA to start inspecting farms for compliance
“It’s very, very important that those practices be cleaned up and that we work with this company and others to make sure that they have preventive controls in place and the responsible measures in place that will enable the safest food supply possible,” Hamburg added.
She cautioned consumers to only eat eggs that have been cooked thoroughly to kill any bacteria. Experts say it’s also important to keep raw eggs from contaminating utensils and cooking surfaces and to wash hands after handling raw eggs.
A lawsuit to be filed Monday in Iowa federal court will allege that an 11-year-old California girl was hospitalized for four days last month with severe diarrhea after eating eggs produced by the DeCoster operation and prepared by her mother. The family’s lawyers have filed a similar lawsuit in Wisconsin.
A spokeswoman for the DeCoster operation, Hinda Mitchell, said the firm was cooperating with the FDA and committed to “operating our farms in the most responsible manner.” She said the company was just learning of Hamburg’s comments and could not comment on what concerns she was addressing.
“We have not received any official written reports from FDA to date. Any concerns raised verbally during their on-farm visit were immediately addressed or are in the process of being addressed,” Mitchell said.
Mice are typically at the root of salmonella contamination, so farms have put an emphasis on rodent control in recent years, according to Darrell Trampel, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State University. Infected mice get into feed and leave feces that is then ingested by the birds. Infected birds can then transmit to their eggs as well as to other hens. Vaccines also can protect birds from infection, he said.
The founder of the DeCoster farms, Jack DeCoster, has a long record of environmental problems and violations of immigration laws and worker rights.
Wright County Egg, a DeCoster company has recalled 380 million eggs produced since May, and a second company, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, that used DeCoster hens and feed announced on Friday that it was recalling an additional 170 million eggs.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the salmonella outbreak may be linked to at least 1,200 illnesses since May, and that additional cases may be identified.
The FDA regulations, which are the agency’s first safety requirements for egg farms, were proposed during the Clinton administration but never implemented during George W. Bush’s presidency. The FDA revived them last year but give farms until July 9 to come into compliance.
Mitchell had said earlier the company was now adhering to the FDA rules but had followed the less-stringent guidelines of a quality assurance program sponsored by the United Egg Producers. Among the differences between the standards: The FDA rules require farms to test young hens, known as pullets, as well as older flocks, while the industry guidelines called for testing only near the end of the hens’ lives.
Ham Murabi defines freedom as the right to see his kids poisoned to death by someone else's negligence.
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/...ampaign=Feed:+GreenFields+(Green+Fields+Blog)
FDA chief says DeCoster farm unsafe
The head of the Food and Drug Administration says the DeCoster farms in Iowa were not operating safely before a salmonella outbreak that led to the recall of more than half a billion eggs.
“There’s no question that these farms that are involved in the recall were not operating with the standards of practice that we consider responsible,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told CNN Sunday night.
Hamburg did not elaborate on the problems that FDA investigators have found, but agency officials said last week that the outbreak could have been prevented if regulations that took effect July 9 had been in place earlier. The regulations include testing, sanitation and refrigeration requirements for egg operations and allow the FDA to start inspecting farms for compliance
“It’s very, very important that those practices be cleaned up and that we work with this company and others to make sure that they have preventive controls in place and the responsible measures in place that will enable the safest food supply possible,” Hamburg added.
She cautioned consumers to only eat eggs that have been cooked thoroughly to kill any bacteria. Experts say it’s also important to keep raw eggs from contaminating utensils and cooking surfaces and to wash hands after handling raw eggs.
A lawsuit to be filed Monday in Iowa federal court will allege that an 11-year-old California girl was hospitalized for four days last month with severe diarrhea after eating eggs produced by the DeCoster operation and prepared by her mother. The family’s lawyers have filed a similar lawsuit in Wisconsin.
A spokeswoman for the DeCoster operation, Hinda Mitchell, said the firm was cooperating with the FDA and committed to “operating our farms in the most responsible manner.” She said the company was just learning of Hamburg’s comments and could not comment on what concerns she was addressing.
“We have not received any official written reports from FDA to date. Any concerns raised verbally during their on-farm visit were immediately addressed or are in the process of being addressed,” Mitchell said.
Mice are typically at the root of salmonella contamination, so farms have put an emphasis on rodent control in recent years, according to Darrell Trampel, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State University. Infected mice get into feed and leave feces that is then ingested by the birds. Infected birds can then transmit to their eggs as well as to other hens. Vaccines also can protect birds from infection, he said.
The founder of the DeCoster farms, Jack DeCoster, has a long record of environmental problems and violations of immigration laws and worker rights.
Wright County Egg, a DeCoster company has recalled 380 million eggs produced since May, and a second company, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, that used DeCoster hens and feed announced on Friday that it was recalling an additional 170 million eggs.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the salmonella outbreak may be linked to at least 1,200 illnesses since May, and that additional cases may be identified.
The FDA regulations, which are the agency’s first safety requirements for egg farms, were proposed during the Clinton administration but never implemented during George W. Bush’s presidency. The FDA revived them last year but give farms until July 9 to come into compliance.
Mitchell had said earlier the company was now adhering to the FDA rules but had followed the less-stringent guidelines of a quality assurance program sponsored by the United Egg Producers. Among the differences between the standards: The FDA rules require farms to test young hens, known as pullets, as well as older flocks, while the industry guidelines called for testing only near the end of the hens’ lives.
