Egg "Whistleblowers": Red Flags Went Unheeded

(CBS)  A couple who worked at one of the two Iowa egg farms faulted in the recent massive recall say they blew the whistle on unsanitary conditions at one plant -- and no one listened.

Rather, Robert Arnold said on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," he and his wife, Deanna, were told the practices and conditions they cited, such as repacking old eggs as fresh, were standard operating procedure and to just go back to work.

He says he regrets that they didn't press on with their complaints.

Some 550 million eggs have been recalled and some 3,000 people report salmonella symptoms apparently related to eating tainted eggs.

The conditions described by the Arnolds "nearly defy belief," observes CBS News Correspondent Cynthia Bowers.

The Arnolds, who now own a small farm, worked at Wright County Egg in 2002 and 2008, Bowers says.

The other giant egg farm cited in the salmonella outbreak is Hillandale Farm.

"Tools were coming through" at the Wright County facility, Deanna told CBS News, "live cats, live mice, dead mice, chicken bones, live chickens, dead chickens."

She says the company routinely took eggs returned by grocery stores and repackaged them as fresh.

The Arnolds say their complaints to supervisors went nowhere, as did their complaints to on-site U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors.

"I blame (Wright County) management for that," Robert remarked to CBS News.

The USDA says its workers were there solely to inspect eggs for labeling, but tell CBS News their employees say they don't remember any of the conditions or complaints.

Still, in a statement Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the case "exemplifies the critical need to make significant improvements" in the nation's food safety system."

Wright County Egg issued its own response to Arnolds' claims, saying, "Anytime there is a perceived issue on our farm, we expect our employees to immediately bring it to our attention, so that we may address it appropriately and swiftly. That is our policy, and that is their responsibility. To the best of our knowledge, no concerns were ever raised."

For his part, Robert Arnold now wonders what more he might have done, and what it might have meant. "When I was doing the complaining, when my wife was doing the complaining, nobody was listening," he told CBS News, "and we didn't take it another step farther. Maybe we could have saved 3000 people from getting sick."

On "The Early Show on Saturday Morning," he told co-anchor Rebecca Jarvis, "The stuff that I seen there, you come to work in the morning, you'd see -- supposedly it was all cleaned up and you would see egg yolk underneath the belts mixing up with the grease from the gears and stuff. You would see old eggs getting repacked and putting today's date on them. When I'd question that, it was, 'Oh, we do that all the time. Just go back to work."

Robert told Jarvis he went to his supervisors with his concerns. "I would," he said, "look and I'd say, 'You know, these eggs are like five, six weeks old. Why are we putting today's date on them?' 'Oh, well, (he was told in response), they do that all the time.' That's what I was told."

He says he wouldn't eat eggs from the plants he worked in. "It's like somebody going to the candy store and getting a chocolate bar that's like two months older. I mean, it should have been taken off the shelf," Arnold explained.

When told of Wright County Egg saying "no complaints were ever raised" by himself or Deanna, Robert replied, "You sit there and you tell a supervisor, 'This ain't right. You know, we're putting old eggs into the containers. We're putting today's date on them.' That's as far as it went. (They'd say) 'Robert, you just - OK, that's just the way it is. Go back to work and finish out your day,' and that's as far as it goes.

" … I'm not saying they're lying. I'm just saying maybe the main office didn't hear about it because, like I said, you're in the plant. You're working. "(You're told) 'That's the way it is, Robert. Just go back. Go back to work." '

More Egg Recall Coverage:
Former Egg Farm Workers Say Complaints Ignored
Rodents, Maggots Found at 2 Iowa Egg Farms
Egg Farm Owner in Recall Known for Violations
Brand Names and Plant Numbers
Egg Industry Tried to Water Down New Regs
Egg Recall List Updated with Two More Brands
Pictures: 9 Signs of Salmonella Poisoning
Eggs from Recall-Linked Farms May Yet Hit Market
How the Egg Recall is Changing Habits
Wholesale Egg Prices Jump 38%
Could Egg Contamination Have Been Prevented?
Egg Recall Tips: Michael Pollan's Secret to Safer Eggs

[AGRY151]

NRCS whistleblower reveals himself, and is fired by the USDA

Valvo accuses NRCS of betraying the public trust

By Todd Morgan
(The following article is part two in a series of articles dealing with the investigation of the NRCS in Pembina County.)
REGION-In the first article it was introduced that the Natural Resource Conservation Service's (NRCS) office in Cavalier is under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in regards to allegations of fraud, waste and mismanagement.
These acts are violations of the public trust. They were first brought to the attention of the NRCS Cavalier Field Office and eventually to the OIG by Geo-Spatial Analyst Anthony (Tony) Valvo, who is currently employed as a soil conservationist with the NRCS and has a master's degree from Purdue. He has been employed by the federal government for seven months in the Cavalier field office.
Valvo, is not a career bureaucrat, but carries his work experience from American industry. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he served in the engineering department aboard a fleet ballistic missile submarine.
Valvo is not a disgruntled employee, but someone who tried to right wrongs that he considered violations of the public trust. The following is his story:
I am an example of the great opportunity afforded our citizenry, and a testament to why government is essential to the average American. None of my accomplishments were given to me, but our government made them available to me, and many others.
A few weeks ago I gave this newspaper (The Walsh County Record) permission to write a story concerning government corruption. The charges are currently under investigation by the USDA's OIG. The original target of the investigation is the NRCS. I do not know the status of the investigation, and do not have the "need to know." The case is under investigation and has been broken down into two components. One is criminal and ethical violations and the other is retaliation against me for reporting violations of the public trust.
I did report the people in this circle for unethical practices, fraud, waste and mismanagement. I did not expect the level of retaliation I received from the NRCS Cavalier Field Office, and its Area I Office Staff. The harassment has been unrelenting, sustained and cruel.
The No Fear Act requires that Federal agencies be more accountable for violations of anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws.
Valvo went to lower and middle management to get redress of these issues before filing an OIG report.
Paul Sweeney, state conservationist out of Bismarck was recently asked about the investigation and confirmed the reports of an OIG probe, but refused to comment on the subject.
Valvo has Type II Diabetes and Hepatitis C, which he got from his former wife who is a primary caregiver. The reasons given to keep him out of the office by NRCS officials are that he is armed and dangerous, that the NRCS couldn't provide "reasonable accommodation" for his diabetes and that he has a blood born illness.
"I have asked the proper chain of command for help. Nothing so far," he said. "I have used my best communication skills and best deportment to bring administrative change to these issues. I met with relentless retaliation."
What's at the core of these issues with the NRCS is it doesn't do anything to expedite the process of the construction that is often needed to implement conservation plans and does very little to see if the plans are actually carried out or verified. This is an important point because oftentimes agri-businesses firms are paid before actual verifications are performed.

[TomColt]

Anyone, management or worker, who knowingly and blatantly violates public health laws needs to go to jail. Companies can be fined, but criminals belong behind bars, or they will never change their behavior.

Also, all commercial chickens in the USA should be vaccinated for salmonella, as they are in the UK. This is a minor cost and will greatly help protect our public food system.

[bradkt1]

Attention deregulators:

The private sector cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Stop sabotaging everything the government tries to do in favor of a warped ideology that that allows these people to do anything they want in the name of making money and we will all be a lot better off,

Government is not the problem here. The private sector is the problem.

[TomColt]

I will repost this comment as it was deleted.

Anyone, management or employee, who knowingly and blatantly violates public health laws should be jailed. Companies can be fined, but individuals who cover up threats to public health belong in prison with other criminals.

Secondly, all commercial chickens in the USA should be vaccinated against salmonella, as they are in the UK.

[erasmus111]

by TomColt September 4, 2010 2:56 PM EDT
I will repost this comment as it was deleted.


No, it probably wasn't deleted. It either just hasn't shown up yet, or it is just going to keep disappearing and reappearing like a million other do.

[thanksgreed]

Who needs regulation? Eggs or seafood anyone??

[tmsaurman]

I don't understand why eggs are sent back to the farm when they are expired in the first place. Why not just dispose of them at the store? If they don't get sent back, the farms can't relabel them.

[erasmus111]

I think all things not sold go back to where they came from. That is how they keep track of what is actually sold.

[bobthebob2]

So the store can get credit for the unsold egg. Its the same reason you have to bring an item back to a store when you return it.

[erasmus111]

"The USDA says its workers were there solely to inspect eggs for labeling, but tell CBS News their employees say they don't remember any of the conditions or complaints."


Well of course not! It wouldn't be in their best interests to remember that little thing.

[Overruled1]

Excuses, excuses, excuses.
That's all we get these days, even when good people stand at shout, their voices went unheard.
The inspectors have a job to follow. That job is the public safety and health. If a worker at a plant tells you that there are safety issues, you had better listen and document.
It is my understanding that the workers approached an inspector who told them they were there to inspect labels. THAT IS INEXCUSABLE NEGLIGENCE.
It is obvious corruption is again playing its' hand on America.
UPTON SINCLAIR WHERE ARE YOU?

[underdogcity]

We need to lock up all of the guilty parties involved in this recall, then feed them their rotten spoiled eggs...preferably undercooked, and heartily served up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

[curse914]

Have you seen Napolean Dyamite? I love it when the guy puts a raw egg in the orange juice.

[VA_Jill]

"To the best of our knowledge." Translation: "la la la we don't want to HEAR you!"