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August 23, 2010

Recall of Eggs Expanded by 170 Million Eggs
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Federal authorities have expanded the recall of eggs tied to an outbreak
of salmonella in the Midwest. On Friday 170 million eggs from Hillandale
Farms of Iowa were recalled. That’s on top of the 380 million eggs
recalled from Wright County Egg, also in Iowa. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, the salmonella outbreak has likely
sickened 1,300 people. No deaths have been reported. Both of the factory
farms affected by the recall are linked to a businessman named Austin De
Coster, who has a record of health, safety and employment violations. In
1997 his company, De Coster Egg Farms, agreed to pay a $2 million fine
after then-Labor Secretary Robert Reich said conditions at his farm were
"as dangerous and oppressive as any sweatshop." In 2002 De Coster’s
company paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the federal Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Mexican women who
reported they were subjected to sexual harassment, including rape, abuse
and retaliation by supervisors at his plants. Earlier this summer,
another company linked to De Coster paid out $125,000 to the state of
Maine over animal cruelty allegations.



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