FDA: Rose Acre facilities had multiple sanitary problems

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that proper rodent control methods were not being utilized and other sanitary measures were not being followed at Rose Acre Farms facilities connected to a recent Salmonella Braenderup outbreak.

Roy Graber Headshot
Photo by Andrea Gantz
Photo by Andrea Gantz

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that proper rodent control methods were not being utilized and other sanitary measures were not being followed at Rose Acre Farms facilities connected to a recent Salmonella Braenderup outbreak.

The alleged sanitary violations were found during inspections of Rose Acre’s operations between March 26 and April 11. The Hyde County, North Carolina, facilities included in the FDA’s report were tied to the Salmonella outbreak, which led the company to recall more than 206 million eggs on April 13. A few days later, Cal-Maine Foods, which purchased eggs from the Rose Acre plant, recalled an additional 23,400 dozen eggs. At the time Rose Acre issued the recall, 22 illnesses had been reported, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on May 10 that the number had grown to 35 people.

Rodent activity at egg farm

The FDA, in a report, stated that a review of the egg farm’s pest control records dating back to September 2017 indicated an ongoing rodent infestation, and that the actions taken to bring the rodent levels to acceptable standards were insufficient.

More specifically, the agency said that it found multiple “live apparent rodents” in two houses and in manure pits, as well as two dead apparent rodents during a March 26 inspection. More live rodents were reported to have been seen in six other barns during inspections for the following two days, as well as in what appeared to be a feed spill pile in an area between two of the barns, FDA reported.

Sanitary conditions at egg processing facility

FDA also reported unsanitary conditions at the Hyde County egg processing facility, based off of an inspection conducted on March 28.

Among the sanitary problems FDA said it discovered were:

  • Workers were allegedly spraying a detergent and immediately wiping it off, not allowing he detergent to soak for the prescribed amount of time.
  • Condensation appeared to be dripping from the ceiling and pipes and onto production equipment, and those drips also caused pooling on floors in foot traffic and forklift pathways.
  • Maintenance and sanitation workers allegedly placed buffers (food contact) and metal covers to the egg packer with buffers 9non-food contact) onto the floor, pallets and equipment that was visibly dirty before placing the equipment into service.
  • Workers were allegedly touching dirty non-food contact surfaces and then touching shell eggs and food contact surfaces without changing gloves or washing their hands.
  • Dirty non-food contact equipment was allegedly placed on top of food contact surfaces.
  • Equipment such as conveyor belts, chains, rail guards, buffers, egg transport arms, and egg clappers apparently had accumulated food debris and grime on them, post sanitation.
  • One worker apparently used a dirty steel wool scrubber that had been stored in a dustpan to scrub debris from egg buffers in service, post sanitation.
  • At least 25 insects appeared to be flying through the facility.
  • A sanitizer used on food contact equipment was apparently not mixed according to manufacturer instructions.

Statement from Rose Acre Farms

Rose Acre Farms, according to the Washington Post, issued the following statement: “Rose Acre Farms takes food safety and the welfare of our hens, workers and consumers very seriously. We responsibly follow the requirements of the FDA’s Egg Safety Rule, the Food Safety Modernization Act and the Food and Drug and Cosmetic Act because we care about providing safe, nutritious and affordable eggs. When we fall short of expectations, we’re disappointed in ourselves and we strive to correct any problems and institute safeguards that ensure those problems won’t occur again. We vow to do better in the future.”

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