Egg Recall Latest Example of Consolidation Putting Consumers at Risk
Statement by Patty Lovera, Assistant Director, Food & Water Watch
Washington, D.C. — “This egg recall is not a fluke. It’s just the latest example of how the consolidation of food production puts consumers at risk. This particular recall is about one production facility responsible for at least 380 million eggs under 15 different labels, but large egg facilities like this are commonplace. Ninety-five percent of all eggs come from facilities with 75,000 birds or more. Five states produce half of the nation’s eggs—Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and California. If something goes wrong in one of these areas, it has a negative impact on the entire country.
“The fact that this recall takes place one month after long-awaited regulation by the FDA for salmonella prevention in large egg facilities kicked in proves that there’s still a lot of work to be done in protecting citizens from food-borne illnesses. While we need the FDA to provide adequate inspections and enforcement, it’s even more important to recognize that the best way to prevent outbreaks of this magnitude is to encourage smaller and regionally dispersed production. There’s no reason chickens can’t thrive in all 50 states.”
Contact: Darcey Rakestraw, 202-683-2467; drakestraw (at) fwwatch.org