Egg farm owners say little at hearing over contamination

WASHINGTON - The heads of two Iowa egg farms linked to as many as 1,600 salmonella illnesses this summer gave Congress few answers in testimony about the conditions at their farms yesterday, as one executive would not testify and the other did not answer many of the lawmakers' questions.

The owner of Wright County Egg, Austin "Jack" DeCoster, 75, said he was "horrified" to learn than his products might have been the cause of the illnesses. The chief executive of Hillandale Farms, Orland Bethel, cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and did not answer questions.

Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg recalled a half-billion eggs in August after tests of products turned up potentially positive for the bacterium salmonella enteritidis, the strain responsible for the recent outbreak. Wright County supplies feed and chickens to Hillandale.

Two witnesses recounted being sickened by tainted eggs. Sarah Lewis, 30, of Freedom, Calif., said she still has diarrhea, fevers and stress in spite of a trip to the intensive care unit and several weeks of sickness after eating a custard tart at her sister's graduation banquet. Her sister also contracted the poisoning.

Carol Loboto, 77, of Littleton, Colo., teared up as she described a loss in stamina and constant indigestion.

The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said the outbreak paints "a very disturbing picture of egg production in America."

A subcommittee investigation found that Wright County Egg had received hundreds of positive results for salmonella in the past two years.

Although Bethel declined to testify, another Hillandale employee, Duane Mangskau, said the recall has forced the company to take a hard look at its operations.