Health Law

DeCoster's Farms Had Salmonella Trouble in Maine, Too

By David Babcock

Evidence continues to surface that the Salmonella problems at Wright County Egg's facility in Iowa were not isolated incidents.    Today, there is a report on the recurring presence of Salmonella enteritidis on egg farms in Maine owned by Mr. DeCoster, who also owns Wright County Egg:  "In Maine, eggs are an 80 million dollar a year business. The man behind a lot of that money is Jack DeCoster, owner of Maine Contract Farming."

According to NECN's report,  there were a series of positive Salmonella enteritidis [SE] results at barns throughout DeCoster's complex between 2006 and 2009.

Emails from a lab, National Veterinary Services Lab, confirmed the presence of SE in more a dozen barns at the facility.   Dr. Hoenig, Maine state veterinarian was quoted as saying, "there has been SE in those buildings for years.  The positive SE tests were environmental tests, meaning on the egg belt or walkways. Not in the chickens or the eggs..but since transmission can happen those tests made the state very nervous"

And much in the same way that FDA investigators (finally) have expressed concerns about DeCoster's practices in Iowa, A 2009 letter to Jack Decoster from the state of Maine stated "this fact is undeniable evidence that management has been ineffective in controlling the spread of SE on the farm."

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on September 24, 2010 (boomark / email).