KANSAS CITY – In an Oct. 15 warning letter, the Food and Drug Administration warned Quality Egg L.L.C., a subsidiary of Wright County Egg, that if it did not take corrective actions to come into compliance with F.D.A regulations the agency may take action against the company. Specifically, the letter states that Quality Egg failed to implement its own bio-security plan.

The letter focused on the company’s rodent and pest control practices, noting that Quality Egg failed to eliminate rodent hiding places and nesting sites; failed to properly seal all of its hen houses; failed to properly bait and seal rodent burrows; and failed to achieve satisfactory rodent and pest control.

The letter also explains that Quality Egg also must take steps to there is no introduction and transfer of the pathogen Salmonella enteritidis into or among poultry houses. In addition the company was told to eliminate all sources of water in manure pits. The company also was ordered to maintain records documenting the implementation of its Salmonella enteritidis prevention plan.

On the same day the F.D.A. issued a letter to Hillandale Farms, Hampton, Iowa, that gave permission for its facility in West Union, Iowa, to resume the distribution of shell eggs to the table market. The F.D.A. said it had found the company’s corrective actions to be adequate.

Both Wright County Farms and Hillandale Farms have been implicated in an outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis that prompted the recall of approximately 500 million eggs.