September 7, 2010
Tom Miller
Iowa Attorney General
1305 E. Walnut Street
Des Moines IA 50319
RE: Wright County Egg, Hillandale Farms of Iowa Inc., and Quality Egg LLC
Feed Mill
Dear Mr. Miller:
The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club encourages you to perform a thorough
investigation
of the circumstances surrounding the egg recall for shell eggs produced by
Wright
County Egg and Hillandale Farms Inc for violations of state law. This
investigation
should also include Quality Egg LLC Feed Mill, the supplier of the feed to
both egg
producers. Additionally, we encourage you to review the operations at the
two farms
responsible for the egg recall and the feed mill with an eye toward internal
policy
changes, legislative needs, and administrative rule changes.
Investigation of violations
We encourage you to do a thorough investigation of the operations at these
two egg
producers and the feed mill with an eye toward penalties, fines, and
criminal prosecution
for violations of the state laws. We believe enough information has been
published in the
press and on the Food and Drug Administration web site to warrant serious
penalties
against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms Inc.
The recall for Hillandale extends to April 9 while the recall for Wright
County Egg
extends to May 15. It is not clear when the egg producers first knew about
the salmonella
enteritidis contamination of the eggs. The recall began in late August 2010.
In an August
31, 2010, article, USA Today reported that salmonella had sickened at least
1,470 people.
People exposed to salmonella can suffer serious health effects. The people
who eat the
eggs are victims of the owners and operators of the egg production
businesses; the
consumers are innocent of any malfeasance.
The Food and Drug Administration conducted inspections of the Quality Egg
LLC Feed
Mill and related business entities facilities at Wright County Egg, and
Hillandale Farms
of Iowa, Inc. in August 2010. The inspections show a pattern of filthy
facilities, poorly
maintained buildings, and pest-infested facilities.
The egg producers showed a reckless disregard for the health and well-being
of the public
by failing to recall the eggs in a timely manner.
Likewise operation of the egg farms show a reckless disregard for the health
and wellbeing
of the public by failing to safely operate the farms, based on the Food and
Drug
Administration 483 report. Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms were
filthy and
infested with flies and rodents.
The 483 report indicated problems at Wright County Egg that included:
1. A dark liquid that appeared to be manure was seeping though the concrete
foundation
to the outside of the laying houses in several locations.
2. Standing water, three-inches high, was observed in one manure pit.
3. There were signs of structural damage to a number of the barns, including
missing
siding, missing air vent screens, and gaps at the bottoms of the doors.
Additionally,
the concrete foundations in several barns had holes and gaps.
4. There were signs of rodents and birds entering the buildings at the
damage sites.
5. Access doors to manure pits were pushed out and provided openings to wild
animals.
Piles of manure, four to eight feet high, pushed the doors outward.
6. Practices were not implemented to prevent the transfer of salmonella
between poultry
houses.
7. Employees were not sanitizing equipment before they moved between poultry
houses.
8. Manure was stacked so high in a manure pit that the door was blocked and
could not
be opened.
9. Chickens were able to use the manure as a bridge to free themselves of
their
confinement. They were able to access the egg-laying areas and tracking
manure into
those areas.
10. Maggots were observed in the manure pit.
11. Large quantities of flies were found around egg belts and walkways.
12. The company-maintained records do not show that the company was
conducting
inspections for rodents. Likewise, the company is not keeping records of
disinfecting
the dead hen truck and disinfecting the trailer used to move pullets to
laying houses.
Additionally the 483 report indicated problems at Hillandale Farms of Iowa
that included:
1. No seal was found on the manure door on one building.
2. There was standing water next to the manure pits.
3. The inspector found liquid manure leaking into the first floor from the
manure pit.
An employee reported that several weeks before the inspection the water line
had
leaked and caused the manure pit to flood.
4. Leaking manure was flowing out of a gap in the door of the manure pit.
5. The producer did not bait and seal rodent burrow holes in the egg
production
facilities.
6. There were signs of structural damage to a number of the barns, including
holes and
missing siding. One building was missing a 15-foot by 3-foot section of
siding,
leaving a hole in the side of the building. A 2-foot-by-2-foot hole was
found in the
side of another building and a 5-inch by 3-inch hole in the siding of yet
another
building. Several doors had significant gaps, including one door with a
12-inch-wide
gap, one with a 6-inch-wide gap.
7. Uncaged hens had freed themselves of the confinement, had walked on piles
of
manure in the manure pit, and were tracking manure from the manure pits into
the
caged houses.
See http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WhatsNewinFood/ucm222684.htm - The
Food and Drug Administration web site has numerous pages concerning the
inspection
reports and the egg recall. The 483 reports can be found on the FDA web
pages.
Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration has determined that the same
strain of
salmonella contaminated the feed for both egg producers as Wright County Egg
and
Hillandale Farms. The feed producer was Quality LLC Feed Mill, a sister
company to
Wright County Egg.
Wright County Egg and Quality LLC Feed Mill are part of the Austin "Jack"
DeCoster
conglomeration of business entities. Hillandale Farms purchased the feed and
hens from
the DeCoster companies.
From all accounts, Jack DeCoster has had a troubled history with respect to
following the
law concerning his animal operations both in Iowa and out of state. Federal
authorities
fined him for health and safety violations in Maine. In Iowa, he was named
an habitual
violator of environmental laws, fined $150,000, and banned from establishing
additional
livestock operations for several years. Over a long period of time, Mr.
DeCoster has
shown a wanton disregard for the law with respect to his businesses; the
situation
surrounding the egg recall is more of the same behavior. Because past
punishment has
not resolved the health, safety, and environmental issues surrounding Mr.
DeCoster's
behavior, it is time to increase the penalties assessed against him.
Legislative and administrative rule changes
As state agencies undertake an investigation of the egg recall, we also
believe that a
review of existing policy and legislation needs to be undertaken. Among the
items that
need to be reviewed are:
1. Requiring mandatory vaccinations of chickens against salmonella
2. Mandatory recall of eggs and other food products when it is determined
that they
have become contaminated. Voluntary compliance in recalls does not work in a
way
that is consistent with protecting the public health.
3. Funding for regulatory staff to monitor concentrated animal feeding
operations so that
problems like these egg producers are not allowed to fester for years needs
to be
significantly increased.
4. Monitoring of the feed mills producing feed for concentrated animal
feeding
operations needs to be implemented and enforced. Industrial-sized feed mills
should
require extra inspection due to the large numbers of animals eating the
food.
Summary
The behavior of these two egg producers is clearly a public health issue
based on how
many people have been sickened prior to the recall and based on the poorly
managed
operations of the facilities.
The egg recall and the obvious flaunting of the public health, safety, and
environmental
laws is an embarrassment to all Iowans. It could have long-lasting effects
on our ability
to sell all of our agricultural products outside of the state, which would
affect the wellbeing
of Iowans and businesses operating in Iowa.
Iowa needs to send a strong message that Iowa is not open to businesses who
flaunt the
health, safety, and environmental laws of the state and country. By
enforcing our
existing laws and regulations and by strengthening the ones that currently
are in effect,
Iowa will not be in a race to the bottom by our country's companies that are
the most
polluting, most unhealthy, and least protecting of human health. The bad
apples,
including the companies involved in the egg recall, must be stopped.
It is also time to put some teeth in Iowa's laws with respect to how
concentrated animal
feeding operations respond to the laws and regulations of the state.
Voluntary
compliance does not work for business entities who flagrantly violate the
laws as the
DeCoster conglomeration of companies has been doing.
On behalf of over 5,000 Iowans who are members of the Iowa Chapter of the
Sierra Club,
we appreciate your pursuing violations against the egg producers and
recommending
strong rules and legislation so that similar problems never reoccur.
Sincerely,
Wallace L. Taylor
Legal Chair
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
References
http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WhatsNewinFood/ucm222684.htm - The Food
and Drug Administration web site has numerous pages concerning the
inspection reports
and the egg recall. The 483 reports can be found on the FDA web pages.
Elizabeth Weise and Phil Brasher, "Filth found at 2 Iowa egg farms", USA
Today,
August 31, 2010
"Rodents, filth found at Iowa egg farms," Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 31,
2010
"Answers about the giant egg recall", DesMoinesRegister.com, August 24, 2010
Perry Beeman, "DeCoster took control of egg operation after state ban,"
DesMoinesRegister.com, August 28, 2010
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
|
