DeCoster Egg Company to Pay $6.8 Million Fine

IOWA CITY, Ia. – An Iowa company has agreed to pay $6.8 million in fines for selling old eggs with false labels for years as well as tainted products that caused a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010, a plea agreement released Monday says.

Quality Egg LLC is expected to plead guilty today to charges of bribing a federal agriculture inspector to approve sales of poor quality eggs, selling misbranded eggs and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.

The company’s owner, Austin “Jack” DeCoster, and its chief operating officer, Peter DeCoster, are expected to plead guilty of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, a misdemeanor. They face sentences ranging from probation to a year in jail, according to plea agreements.

Jack DeCoster, 79, of Turner, Maine, and his son Peter, 50, of Clarion, Ia., who have left the industry, have agreed to pay $100,000 fines each. A judge must approve the agreements, which allow the DeCosters to appeal any jail terms.

Bill Marler, an attorney who represents dozens of the salmonella victims, said the $6.8 million fine was “quite stunning” and the largest he’s heard of in 20 years of practicing food safety law. The fines and potential jail time send “a very strong message to companies that food safety is paramount,” he said.

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Source: Des Moines Register