On June 2, 2014 a court decision shocked the nation as one of the
largest egg manufacturers in the U.S. was charged with almost $7 million in
fines for their responsibility in a nationwide salmonella breakout in 2010. The
owner and chief operating officer of Quality Egg LLC, 79 year old Austin
DeCoster and his son, 50-year-old Peter DeCoster, are charged with knowingly
selling unapproved food to commercial businesses. The act earned them each a
misdemeanor. Both DeCosters were charged $100,000 fines, each, and may be
convicted for up to a year in prison.
The rural Iowa business produced over 1 million eggs on a daily basis, but
became greedy as profit concerns conflicted with poor quality merchandise.
Thousands of Americans developed food poisoning due to salmonella-laced eggs that should have never reached
store shelves. Investigations into the company claimed the DeCosters had no
clue that the eggs were infected; nor had they any clue that the company was
responsible for altering expiration labels for four years in order to move
their merchandise. But court plea agreements reminded them that as Chief
Operating Officers, it was their job to know what was going on with their
product and ensure it met the legal and safe sale requirements.Eggs have a limited shelf life and must be consumed within a month or two of sale. However, Tony Wasmund, the company manager of Quality Egg LLC, approved the overall practice of altering or making up entirely new expiration dates on stored eggs. In many cases, they had already been 2 weeks to a month old, or even older before the shipping process was even an issue. Tony and another employee were also found responsible for bribing a USDA inspector in order to pass poor quality eggs which should have been sold at half price to manufacturers of liquid egg products. Under his own plea agreement, Wasmund is expected to be sentenced in September for bribery and conspiracy.
The man of the hour, U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett, pulled no punches as he slammed Quality Egg LLC and the DeCosters with an unprecedented $6.8 million dollar suit for the salmonella outbreak caused by their mishandling and unethical business practice. He has yet to decide whether the men have the option of plea agreements which would allow them to appeal prison terms due in part to their acceptance of reimbursing victims of the tainted eggs. An attorney who represents many of the salmonella victims insisted he had never come across such a strict sentence in his 20 year long career. He stated on the record that it’s an unmistakable message that food safety must come before profits.
Quality Egg LLC has since closed shop, but they could have remained in business had they insisted upon microbiology quality assurance for their product upfront. Salmonella and other food-related pathogen concerns are far too widespread not to take advantage of pharmaceutical microbiology advancements. Traditional methods of microbial testing require extensive time and labor. Generally a reasonable confirmation of pathogen count is available within 72 hours to a week. The wait can cause some companies to choose the easy route which leads to outbreaks.
Over 3.4 million people die every year due to water based pathogens alone. Rapid detection systems utilizing microbiology instruments can ensure the quality of food and beverages for the general public within a few hours, completely negating the financial concerns affected by time constrictions. Simply sweeping the risks of contamination under the rug is a waste of limited resources and dangerous to everyone’s health. Always insist your consumables undergo microbial testing. And if you’re a victim of an outbreak, speak up! The courts are listening. Contact Biolumix to learn more about rapid microbial methods for salmonella testing.
Biolumix
3928 Varsity Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (734) 984-3100
Fax: 734-222-1830
Email: info@mybiolumix.com
http://www.mybiolumix.com/
https://plus.google.com/103841943418192727689/
No comments:
Post a Comment