Flatonia Area Egg Facility Has Nine Employees Test Positive for Covid
Three of the Nine Have Recovered and Returned to Work
Cal-Maine Foods confirmed this week that nine of its employees in the Flatonia area have contracted coronavirus.
Cal-Maine produces chicken eggs at several facilities in the Flatonia area. Cal-Maine spokesperson Jeff Eller reported that the company employs 208 people in Fayette County.
Three of the nine Cal-Maine employees who contracted the virus have been cleared by health officials and returned to work, Eller said.
“Our top priority is the health and safety of our employees, who work hard every day to produce eggs for our customers and the wider community,” Eller said. “The Company is following CDC guidelines and educating its employees about those guidelines on an ongoing basis.”
Eller said Cal-Maine has implemented social distancing, installed shields in work areas, provided face masks to employees and implemented temperature monitoring where appropriate.
“In addition, and by way of example, we have significantly increased the cleaning and sanitizing of work areas, including use of dry hydrogen peroxide microbial reduction systems,” Eller said.
“Fortunately, there are no known indications that Covid-19 can be transferred through the food supply,” Eller added. “We remain focused on meeting the current demand for eggs while protecting our employees at the same time.”
As of Thursday, May 14, the Fayette County Office of Emergency Management reports 10 cases of coronavirus in the Flatonia area. Some of the Cal-Maine employees may live in Gonzales County, where there were 59 confirmed cases as of Wednesday. The total number of cases in Fayette County stands at 25.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a lawsuit against Cal-Maine Foods last month over allegations of price gouging on eggs during the pandemic. Eller said Cal-Maine “strongly disagrees” with Paxton’s allegations and intends to fight the lawsuit.
“Since 1958, we have operated with honesty and integrity,” Eller said. We are steadfast in our belief these charges are grossly unfair and without merit. The domestic shell egg market is intensely competitive and highly volatile. For decades, we and many of our customers have agreed to price conventional eggs off an independent, third-party market quote published by Urner Barry Publications, Inc.
“We have no control over this market quote, and it fluctuates wildly from week to week and sometimes day to day,” he added. “We have been consistent in our pricing practices whether we sell at a profit or at a loss. We will vigorously defend ourselves from this government overreach into agriculture and look forward to speaking more in the future.”