The owners of Quality Egg, based in northwest Iowa, pleaded guilty to charges related to a massive salmonella outbreak in 2010 in which thousands of people fell ill and 550 million eggs were recalled, says USA Today. Under a plea agreement, the company agreed to pay a fine of $6.8 million and pleaded guilty to one count of bribery, one count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce and one count of introducing misbranded food into interstate commerce.
The newspaper said Austin DeCoster, of Turner, Maine, and Peter DeCoster, of Clarion, Iowa, pleaded guilty to one count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. The DeCosters face a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison or probation for up to five years as well as a fine. In the plea agreement, Quality Egg said its employees bribed a USDA inspector to allow sale of eggs that failed to meet grading standards.