Egg Kingpin Linked to Salmonella Scare Has History of Violations
Shown here is Austin "Jack" DeCoster. (Sun Journal)
The egg mogul linked to the widespread salmonella outbreak is considered by government officials a repeat offender, and the allegations and violations at his farms go far beyond sanitation to illegal immigration, unsafe workplace conditions and sexual abuse of female employees.
Though the recent recall is the first time conditions at his farms have drawn such heated and nationwide scrutiny, Austin "Jack" DeCoster has been cited for violations dating back at least to the early 1990s.
DeCoster has been a force in the egg world for decades, with companies and locations under various names operating in Maine, Iowa and elsewhere. His Wright County Egg is one of two Iowa farms directly linked to the salmonella scare, and his Quality Egg supplies chickens and feed to both farms involved.
DeCoster's farms have continued operating despite spending nearly two decades under the watchful eye of state and federal officials and facing lawsuits and millions of dollars in fines for other reasons.
DeCoster's farms started gaining national attention in late 1995, when a local newspaper in Maine wrote an expose about his farm conditions.
After months of protests and a federal investigation, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined him $3.6 million for workplace violations -- investigators claimed workers were handling dead chickens and manure with their bare hands, according to a newspaper report at the time. Their living quarters were comparably squalid.
Then-Labor Secretary Robert Reich said at the time the workers were being treated like animals and that the conditions were "among the worst" he'd seen.