IOWA CITY, Ia. — A father and son whose Iowa-based egg production company caused a massive 2010 salmonella outbreak can be required to serve jail time for misdemeanor food safety violations, a divided appeals court ruled Wednesday.
In a 2-1 decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld three-month jail sentences issued last year to 82-year-old Austin "Jack" DeCoster and his son Peter DeCoster, 53.
The DeCosters were aware of unsanitary conditions at their sprawling Iowa egg farms but failed to improve them before the outbreak, which sickened up to 56,000 people and left some with permanent injuries, Judge Diana Murphy wrote.
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