Eggs-actly: manure floods in laying houses too darn nitpicky

An enormous surprise to all, the farmers responsible for infecting 1,600 people with salmonella from contaminated eggs, and then the largest egg recall in U.S. history, are (1) contrite puppy dogs before Congress, (2) repeat offenders, and (3) circle back through (1) and (2) next time (though hopefully not).

As reported by the Seattle Times, the DeCoster farm has apparently been cited numerous times for sanitation violations. The DeCosters insisted they had taken steps to clean up facilities, but offered no explanation as to why problems kept coming up.

Here is a good reason why: the post-recall FDA inspection revealed rodent holes, liquid manure streaming through holes, and dead birds and maggots in the laying houses. In several cases the manure built up so much as to push open the door. Peter DeCoster described the FDA's inspection as nitpicking, and noted that only four doors were opened by manure overflow, out of 292.