"ATLAS BARFED!"
Investigators began examining conditions at the Wright County operation Aug. 12, the day before the company issued its first recall. Inspectors completed their work at that facility Aug. 30, according to documents released by the FDA.
They found:
•Barns with dozens of holes chewed by rodents that mice, insects and wild birds used to enter and live inside the barns;
•Flies on and around the egg belts and hen feeders;
•Manure built up in 4- to 8-foot-tall piles in pits below the hen houses, in such quantities that it pushed pit doors open, allowing rodents and other wild animals access to hen houses;
•Dozens of hens, which had escaped their cages, roaming freely, tracking manure from the pit to other caged parts of the barns;
•Hen houses with significant structural damage and improper air ventilation systems.
Investigators checked out the Hillandale site Aug. 19-26. Their tests of spent water from an egg wash station came up positive for salmonella, although it was not clear whether that contaminated water had been used to clean eggs, an FDA official said.
How does it get this bad?
Many of the eggs consumers eat are being produced by a shrinking number of farmers. There are 192 large commercial egg producers in the U.S. that control 95% of all the laying hens, compared with 2,500 in 1987
And Iowa, by far, the nation's largest producer of eggs, naturally has this element...
Iowa has far fewer rules regarding regular inspections of either farm or feed operations. That, along with cheaper land, feed and energy costs, explains why much of the nation's cheapest eggs are being produced in the Hawkeye State, food safety experts and industry critics say.
And again, while the "regulation-free" state is the masturbatory dream of the GOP, the money from the DeCosters goes into both parties pockets...
In Iowa on Monday, state Atty. Gen. Tom Miller agreed to return a $10,000 campaign contribution from Peter DeCoster, Austin DeCoster's son, made in 2005, after he was criticized by his Republican opponent.
And naturally, what lessons do conservatives draw from this disgusting and shameful incident?
Look no further than the comments:
BobTheduck at 2:22 AM August 31, 2010
As with most other food products, if you check the people who perform the work that ws not done correctly (cleaning) you will find illegal aliens NOT doing their job.