Owner Of Egg Company Guilty Of Food Safety Violations Faces Fine, Possible Jail Time

The owner of Quality Egg LLC and his son, the chief operating officer, have pleaded guilty in federal court to misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Austin DeCoster and son Peter could be sentenced to up to a year in jail, in addition to paying $100,000 each in fines and paying further restitution to the victims of a 2010 salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands. The company, which also pleaded guilty to charges of bribing a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector and selling misbranded food, has agreed to pay a $6.8 million fine, the largest federal food safety-related penalty ever imposed.