LOS ANGELES – More than a quarter of a million eggs from an Ohio farm have been recalled from eight states because of Salmonella enteritidis concerns.

This marks the latest in a series of high-profile troubles for the nation’s food-safety system. And it could add to the legal troubles faced by the Iowa farmer at the center of two massive egg recalls over the summer.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc., of Jackson, Miss., the nation’s leading egg seller and distributor, said Monday it was recalling 288,000 eggs that the company had bought from Ohio Fresh Eggs.

Cal-Maine said in a statement that the federal Food and Drug Administration alerted the company Friday that its Croton, Ohio-based supplier had a routine sample test positive for salmonella. Cal-Maine had bought about 24,000 dozen unprocessed eggs from Ohio Fresh, which were then processed and repackaged at Cal-Maine’s facility in Arkansas from Oct. 9 to 12.

The eggs involved were distributed in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. No illnesses related to the purchased eggs have been confirmed.

Austin “Jack” DeCoster, whose Wright County Egg was one of the two Iowa farms connected to at least 1,600 people falling ill because of contaminated eggs this year, has long had financial ties to Ohio Fresh Egg. (New FDA rules governing egg safety went into effect July 9, too late to prevent the widespread salmonella outbreak.)

In 2003, DeCoster invested $125 million in Ohio Fresh Eggs, a company co-owned by Orland Bethel, who also owns Hillandale Farms, the other Iowa farm connected to the August recalls of 550 million eggs.

The Ohio Agriculture Department said earlier this year that DeCoster was still an investor in Ohio Fresh Eggs.

Last month, the FDA issued a warning letter to Wright County Egg for sanitation violations including failure to control rodents.

 

Copy the Story Link