FDA 483 - Unknown Company - March 10, 2011

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a shell egg producer located in Chase, KS, underwent an FDA inspection from March 8 to March 10, 2011. The primary observation during this inspection was the firm's failure to effectively prevent wild birds from entering its poultry houses. Specifically, on March 8, 2011, investigators observed multiple live wild birds perched on and above chicken cages within House 11, aisles 3 and 5. This finding indicated a deficiency in the company's pest control and biosecurity measures. The regulatory framework governing this observation stems from food safety standards, likely under the Egg Safety Rule, which aims to minimize public health risks associated with shell eggs, including preventing contamination sources like wild birds. While the company had undertaken recent corrective measures, such as re-roofing barns by February 24, 2011, and updating its Shell Egg Plan on March 1, 2011, stating these actions would address the issue, the continued presence of birds demonstrated these steps were not fully effective at the time of the inspection. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is implicitly required to implement and verify more robust and effective corrective actions to ensure wild birds are consistently excluded from its poultry houses, thereby ensuring ongoing compliance with food safety regulations and safeguarding product integrity.