Food safety attorney Bill Marler today petitioned the court for entrance to an Iowa egg farm responsible for the massive egg recall and nationwide outbreak of Salmonella.
A ‘Rule 34’ inspection – named for its position in the civil code - is a request for entry into a facility for purposes of inspection and testing. On behalf of one of its clients, Marler Clark has requested entry to the Wright County Egg facility to inspect, document, and conduct microbiological testing.
“According to the FDA inspection, the condition and operation of this egg facility is at the source of the contamination that led to thousands of illnesses nationwide,” said attorney Bill Marler. “As with the PCA peanut butter outbreak, the facility itself was an important part of the evidence, and it was critical to see it ourselves.”
The FDA inspection took place after Salmonella illnesses traced to eggs caused Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms to recall 550 million eggs. The facility had not been inspected by FDA in the past, and numerous violations were found, ranging from poor procedure to shocking lapses in sanitary conditions. Environmental tests at the Wright County Egg factory and in Wright County Egg feed tested positive for the genetic match to 1,469 Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) illnesses nationwide.
Wright County Egg of Galt, IA recalled 330 million eggs contaminated with Salmonella in August 2010. Hillandale Farms, another Iowa producer with close ties to Wright County Egg, recalled an additional 170 million eggs, together creating one of the largest food recalls in American history. To date, illnesses have been confirmed in California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.