U.S. Alleges Rancher Sold Contaminated Liquid Eggs

A Riverside County egg rancher has been indicted on charges of producing and selling more than 8,000 pounds of liquid eggs, much of which was contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

Federal authorities said the eggs were sold to wholesalers in Santa Ana and Wilmington and eventually purchased by bakeries and commercial kitchens in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Stefan Illy, 58, who operates Sunnyslope Farms in Cherry Valley, near Beaumont, was charged in the federal grand jury indictment with using rejected, broken and contaminated eggs from his egg packaging plant, and producing the liquid eggs under unsanitary conditions in a shed behind the plant.

Put Through Strainers

“In effect, what the operation consisted of was running the liquid eggs through strainers and putting them into large plastic containers, and that was it. No evidence of proper cleaning, no evidence of contaminated objects being kept away from food products,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Maurice A. Leiter said after Friday’s indictment.

The indictment also alleges that Illy’s operation was not licensed and not inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as required under federal law.

Federal investigators in December seized more than 5,000 pounds of liquid eggs processed at Illy’s plant, conducting laboratory tests which revealed the presence of Salmonella bacteria.

Leiter said it is impossible to know whether anyone developed food poisoning from using the product, but because none has been on the market since the seizure in December, there is believed to be no present health danger.

Denies Allegations

Illy said in a telephone interview Friday that he had not been aware of any requirements for federal licensing and inspection. And he denied that the product had been produced under unsanitary conditions.

“Somebody apparently reported I had sold frozen eggs unpasteurized, and this is apparently against the law, which I did not know at the time,” Illy said.

“It was done very openly, there was nothing secretive about it,” he said. “They (federal investigators) just came in and asked me if I break eggs, and I tell them yes, and they said where are the eggs, and I show them.”

Illy said he had only produced the liquid eggs on a few occasions, but Leiter said there is evidence he produced more than 8,000 pounds of the product, of which at least 3,000 pounds was sold to wholesalers.

Illy is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 10. If convicted on the 24-count indictment, he faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment on each count and a maximum fine of $500,000.