Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: eggs

  • New Egg Recall Involves Man Involved in Prior Recall

    An Ohio poultry facility linked to the latest egg recall over Salmonella-contamination concerns was reportedly the recipient of a $125 million investment by Austin “Jack” DeCoster, the man who owned the two Iowa farms linked to the August 2010 recall of 550 million potentially contaminated eggs. The Ohio Agriculture Department apparently indicated earlier this year…

  • Egg Facility Owner Apologizes to House Lawmakers for Salmonella Outbreak

    Austin DeCoster, who owns the Iowa egg production facility at the center of a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds, reportedly testified during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing that his company “was horrified to learn that our eggs may have made people sick.” DeCoster was also quoted as saying, “We apologize to…

  • Class Action Filed Against Egg Producers in Salmonella Outbreak

    A putative class action has apparently been filed in a federal court in Illinois by six named plaintiffs who allegedly became ill after consuming Salmonella-tainted eggs from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in Iowa. The plaintiffs’ attorney has reportedly been given permission to inspect the farms for evidence. According to a news source, the plaintiffs allege…

  • Consumer Groups Urge Passage of Food Safety Reform Legislation

    Consumer groups recently released a report urging the U.S. Senate to pass its version of a food safety bill (S. 510) in light of a recent egg recall linked to foodborne illness. Published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Consumer Federation of America,…

  • House Members Seek Documents, Schedule Hearing on Tainted-Egg Recall

    Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who chairs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) appropriations subcommittee, is seeking information from the agencies about the unfolding Salmonella outbreak linked to two Iowa egg producers. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) have also stepped into the massive egg recall, requesting information from…

  • Agencies Plan Two Meetings on Food Safety Progress

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced two public meetings with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to hear stakeholder input on collective efforts to reduce illness, harm and death from contaminated food. Extensions of an initial workshop held…

  • Settlement Announced in Egg Antitrust Litigation

    A plaintiffs’ firm has announced a $25 million partial settlement in an antitrust class action “brought on behalf of direct purchasers of shell eggs and egg products.” In re: Processed Eggs Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2002 (E.D. Pa.). According to Hausfeld LLP, plaintiffs alleged “a near industry-wide, price-fixing conspiracy among egg farmers which raised the price…

  • FSIS Updates List of Suitable Ingredients for Meat, Poultry and Egg Products

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a directive that revises its list of suitable ingredients that can used in the production of meat, poultry and egg products. FSIS will update the directive quarterly by issuing revisions as opposed to amendments. FSIS has added hypobromous acid and oat…