The Legal Examiner Affiliate Network The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner search instagram avvo phone envelope checkmark mail-reply spinner error close The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner The Legal Examiner
Skip to main content

Eggs from Sparboe farms won’t be passing through the golden arches any time soon. McDonald’s has decided to drop its long-time egg supplier after the company was cited by the FDA on Thursday for "significant and serious violations" in the production of eggs.

Sparboe Farms is the fifth largest producer of eggs in the country, but the FDA seriously cracked down on the company this week citing concerns over last year’s Salmonella outbreaks connected to eggs. According to the FDA, Sparboe Farms was in violation of 13 recently enacted federal egg rules to prevent a Salmonella outbreak similar to the one from last year. However, it’s also likely that recent animal cruelty footage that will be showcased on 20/20 and "World News With Diane Sawyer" prompted the FDA to clamp down on Sparboe Farms.

The footage is set to air tonight and apparently includes unsanitary conditions and severe cruelty to animals. A Mercy for Animals activist went undercover and claims to have witnessed chickens being grabbed by the neck, slammed into cages, and thrown as well as other health hazards that could lead to contaminated eggs. However, Ken Klippen, Sparboe’s director of government relations, says that the company has never had a chicken or egg contaminated with Salmonella and that the FDA’s actions were unwarranted. The FDA has promised further investigations in Sparboe Farm’s factories and McDonald’s was quick to distance itself from the company.

Comments for this article are closed.