Federal Agents visited Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, one of two Iowa farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and egg recall. FDA agents are investigating the farms for crimes involving adulterated food.
Investigation into the working conditions of the farms was finished on Monday. Eggs produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale have been associated in nearly 1,500 cases of salmonella poisoning. Both the companies have recalled more than 550 million eggs.
Salmonella can cause fever, abdominal cramps and severe diarrhea and may require hospitalization.
The federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention has said this is the largest outbreak of this strain of salmonella since FDA surveillance began tracking outbreaks in the late 1970s.
The FDA found the eggs produced in contaminated conditions. There were cases of dead flies, manure, rodents and un-caged birds throughout the facilities. At the Wright farm, the doors to manure-pits were bulging under the weight of the chicken droppings. There were also “Live and dead maggots too numerous to count”, “excessive amounts of manure” and “Unsealed rodent holes” as detailed by FDA reports.
“We have no reason to believe this is indicative of practices throughout the industry,” said Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for food. The FDA has not drawn any conclusions about the source of salmonella contamination at either farm.