Former Egg Farm Workings Say Complaints Ignored

U.S. Agriculture Department employees "worked full-time at two Iowa egg farms at the center of a salmonella outbreak and massive recall, but two former workers say they didn't respond to complaints about conditions at one site." (Des Moines, Iowa, AP, 8/3).

Two former employees at "Wright County Egg facilities, Robert and Deanna Arnold, say they reported problems such as leaking manure and dead chickens to USDA employees but were ignored and told to return to work." An industry spokesman says, "the USDA employee in charge of the site never received any complaints but that the investigation is continuing."

As a personal injury attorney in Chicago, I am disappointed that company officials ignored signs of trouble, and in doing so caused many to suffer needlessly. The current recall has escalated to a total of about 550 million eggs.