On “The Early Show” this morning on CBS, two ex-employees of Wright County Egg spoke of deplorable conditions at the facility. Wright County Egg is one of two Iowa egg farms at the center of a nationwide salmonella egg outbreak that has sickened over 1500 victim nationwide. The other is Hillandale Farms.
Robert Arnold and his wife, Deanna, explained how they saw – and reported – unsanitary conditions surrounding the production of eggs, but no one listened. Instead, they were told that the unsafe practices were “standard procedure” and to go back to work. The Arnolds, who have their own farm, worked at Wright County Egg in 2002 and 2008.
The Arnolds reported the following:
1. Live cats, live mice, dead mice, chicken bones, live chickens, and dead chickens in the facility.
2. The company regularly took eggs returned from grocery stores and repackaged them as fresh eggs.
3. Supposedly clean machinery contaminated with egg yolk.
4. Old eggs getting repackaged as fresh eggs.
The Arnolds said all of their complaints were ignored.Robert described conversations with his supervisors: “I would say, ‘You know, these eggs are like five, six weeks old. Why are we putting today’s date on them?’ ‘Oh, well, (he was told in response), they do that all the time.’ That’s what I was told.”
He says he wouldn’t eat eggs from the plants he worked in. “It’s like somebody going to the candy store and getting a chocolate bar that’s like two months older. I mean, it should have been taken off the shelf,” Arnold explained.
Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke frankly about the egg farm conditions, saying that it “exemplifies the critical need to make significant improvements” in the nation’s food safety system.”
Wright County Egg Denial
In response to the Arnolds’ claims, Wright County Egg issued the following statement:
“Anytime there is a perceived issue on our farm, we expect our employees to immediately bring it to our attention, so that we may address it appropriately and swiftly. That is our policy, and that is their responsibility. To the best of our knowledge, no concerns were ever raised.”
The FDA and FBI are still investigating both egg farms.
