Iowa egg farm again deals with salmonella

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- A company that promised to clean up Iowa's egg industry after a nationwide salmonella outbreak in 2010 reports that a recent government safety inspection discovered the bacteria in two of its barns and that it took steps to protect consumers.

Centrum Valley Farms said in a statement issued Friday to The Associated Press that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the strain of bacteria known as salmonella heidelberg in two of six poultry houses that were tested at its production facility in Clarion, Iowa, during a routine inspection in May.

The company said the presence of the bacteria in the barns did not mean any eggs were tainted, but that it nonetheless diverted an unspecified number from the market "in the interest of egg safety."

The company said the eggs were withheld until they tested negative for the bacteria four times and were eventually approved for sale by the FDA.

The plant is under strict oversight because it was one of several in northern Iowa implicated in the 2010 outbreak, which sickened an estimated 2,000 customers and led to the recall of more than 500 million eggs nationwide.

Chief Operating Officer Steve Boomsma said in the statement that Centrum Valley was in the process of responding to the FDA's findings, which included several deficiencies in its testing for salmonella and its salmonella prevention plan.

"Providing safe, high-quality eggs to Centrum Valley Farms customers is our obligation," he said. "We have already taken corrective actions."

In its letter, the FDA noted that Centrum Valley had promised several improvements, and that its inspectors would be looking for verification of them during their next visit.