The Costco grocery store chain and one of its egg suppliers, Hillandale Farms, have responded to the findings of an undercover investigation recently conducted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Earlier this week, HSUS posted a video online showing “inhumane treatment of animals and food safety concerns” at a Hillandale egg facility in Gettysburg, PA. Hillandale disputed the findings, stating that their “high standards were compromised” by the undercover employee. The video was shot in a barn “where he was the primary caretaker, with responsibility to maintain cleanliness in the barns, address any equipment issues and remove mortality on a daily basis,” the company said. “It appears clear that he disregarded required operational procedures and then videotaped the barn and flock with the intent to misrepresent Hillandale Farms.” The company said it investigated the allegations with “outside academic experts in food safety and hen welfare” and confirmed that the images reflected “an isolated incident.” Costco released a statement to the media on Thursday saying that the retailer had also conducted inspections of the facility “as recently as this week” which “confirmed for us that Hillandale is behaving appropriately.” The grocery store chain stated that it is “committed to the ethical treatment of animals” and enforces “this through testing and inspection of the facilities, done by persons who are independent of the suppliers.” Costco added that it sells more than 50 million cage-free eggs each year. “While the images on the video are disturbing, our expert review has affirmed that our food safety and hen care programs are solid,” Hillandale stated. “This single incident should not be cause for customer concern.” The egg producer did note that it had identified areas for improvement, including process improvement and more training for its employees. “We support these efforts,” Costco said.
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