A former manager at the Iowa farm responsible for the largest egg recall in history and the 2010 Salmonella outbreak that sickened nearly 2,000 people will plead guilty to conspiring to bribe a federal inspector to overlook health violations at the facility. Tony Wasmund, former employee of Wright County Egg — one of the two operations owned by Austin “Jack DeCoster that were jointly linked to the 2010 outbreak — was accused of authorizing another worker to give $300 to an inspector from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Northern Iowa. The funds were intended to convince the USDA official to allow the sale of eggs that had been held after failing to meet agency standards, according to the complaint. Wasmund allegedly authorized the release of these funds August 12, 2010, the day before the first of three egg recalls for potential Salmonella contamination was announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Five days later, on August 18, the Wright County recall was expanded to include a total of 380 million shelled eggs. On August 20, DeCoster’s Hillandale Farms recalled around 170 million of its eggs, bringing the total number of recalled eggs to 550 million. In addition to trying to distribute sub-standard eggs for sale to consumers, Wasmund was accused of attempting to label the facility’s eggs with a higher grade level than the one awarded to them by USDA. Wasmund allegedly pushed for “the inclusion of labeling falsely indicating the eggs met a quality grade standard under rules promulgated by the USDA,” and “the omission of labeling to indicate the eggs…could not be lawfully sold.” Wasmund agreed to plead guilty at a hearing Wednesday morning.
Gretchen is a Seattle-based reporter covering issues ranging from child nutrition to local agriculture to foodborne illness outbreaks and global food safety issues. In June of 2011 she reported from Hamburg on the European E. coli outbreak. Gretchen
More than 220 suspected frauds were reported in Europe in October, potentially triggering investigations in member states.
There were 223 reports in October, compared to 164 in September, 166 in
A Korean agency has been chosen as the first center that will focus on food safety emergencies for the World Health Organization.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)
The Mexican food agency has called on the private sector to invest more in health and safety.
During the third National Congress on Animal and Plant Health and Food Safety,
Five potential European Union countries have had their food safety controls evaluated as part of efforts to align systems with EU requirements.
The reports cover progress in the past 12
Chlorine dioxide gas may be an effective tool for combating Salmonella on sprouts, according to a new study. Researchers at Rutgers University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
The liquid that comes off of a defrosting chicken provides a safe harbor for Campylobacter, according to a new study. Chicken “juice” from a defrosted bird turns a surface into
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Monday released a comprehensive plan to combat food fraud for monetary gain. The USP said the new guidance is designed to help food manufacturers
Government agencies in charge of monitoring food for pesticide residues must step up their testing programs, said the Government Accountability Office in a new report. While data collected by these
