The editors of Food Safety News have complied this list of major news from 2016. While the year will no doubt be best remember for its presidential election, there were other milestones worth remembering as we prepare to turn the page and begin the New Year.
No. 10 — Mike Taylor leaves FDA, heads to …
Not so long ago, errant food industry managers and executives did not have to worry about going to jail. But they do now. The government once did not have any intentions, plans or strategies for obtaining convictions of food industry managers and executives. But they do now. Before 2010, a corporation with contaminated food that…
I thought it might be helpful to see a few cases where a food borne outbreak brought the attention of the US Attorney’s office. “Forwarded is Forearmed.” 
Odwalla: In 1998 in what was the first criminal conviction in a large-scale food-poisoning outbreak, Odwalla Inc. pleaded guilty to violating Federal food safety laws and agreed to…
If those controversial Koch brothers and the conservative Heritage Foundation have their way, sentencing reform may soon require evidence of mens rea — criminal intent — before courts could convict defendants. Before Congress is likely to act on that reform, however, a three-judge panel in St. Paul, MN, will hear from two top appellate attorneys…
The Humane Society of the United States has filed legal complaints with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that Hillandale Farms, a Costco egg supplier, has deceived consumers with its poor animal welfare standards and “filthy and unsanitary conditions,” resulting in food safety concerns. The complaints come…
In a week, Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, will both face possible jail sentences stemming from a Salmonella outbreak caused by their Iowa egg farms in 2010. 
The Salmonella outbreak ran from May 1 to Nov. 30, 2010, and prompted the recall of more than a half-billion shell eggs, the largest recall…
If you were sickened by Salmonella in eggs from Wright County Egg in 2010, the U.S. Attorney’s Office may be looking to speak with you. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa is seeking information from people sickened between the beginning of 2010 and August 2010 by eggs from Wright County Egg,…
U.S. attorneys in Iowa have charged the company and the man once known as “The Chicken King” and his son with two federal felonies counts each, including bribery of a public official. Austin (Jack) DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, were charged Wednesday in connection with the 2010 recall of more than a half-billion shell…
A 57-year-old employee at an egg farm in Maine was killed Monday by a coworker who was reportedly shooting at rodents and stray chickens, according to the Portland Press Herald. Police are investigating whether the shooter should be charged with criminal negligence. The shooting took place near Turner, Maine, at facilities operated by Moark…
Before the August 2010 Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) outbreak sickened as many as 62,000 people and led to a recall of more than half a billion eggs, Nucal Foods Inc. and Quality Egg LLC were trading eggs like currency. Now those two companies are on the opposite sides of a federal civil action that in all…
The company that took over Iowa’s two most troubled egg businesses now has food safety problems of it own to deal with at its recently acquired facilities. Centrum Valley Farms acquired all the Iowa egg production facilities formerly operated by Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter — site of the nation’s largest egg recall…
