05.06.2014

DeCoster, an Iowa company has agreed to pay $6.8 million in fines for selling old eggs with false labels for years as well as the tainted products that caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010, according to a plea agreement.
Quality Egg LLC, once one of the nation's largest egg producers, plead guilty to charges of bribing a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector to approve sales of poor quality eggs, selling misbranded eggs and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
Austin “Jack” DeCoster, 79, and his son, Peter DeCoster, 51, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett will later decide their sentences, which could be up to one year in jail, fines of $100,000 apiece and additional restitution for victims.
Quality Egg, which operated a network of businesses in rural northern Iowa that produced more than 1 million eggs daily. The government blamed its tainted shell eggs for a 2010 salmonella outbreak that led to thousands of cases of food poisoning and the unprecedented recall of 550 million eggs. The DeCosters have since left the industry.