Rose Acre Farms is the second largest egg producer in the United States and employs 2,000 people. The company is based in

Seymour, Indiana Seymour is a city in Jackson County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 21,569 at the 2020 census. The city is noted for its location at the intersection of two major north–south and east–west railroads, which cross each other in th ...

, and has facilities in Arizona, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Hawaii, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia. Rose Acre Farms is one of several producers that annually donate approximately 30,000 hard boiled eggs to the U.S. government for use at the

White House Easter Egg Roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of Easterti ...

. In 2013 the company began a 30-year effort to refit its facilities to

cage-free Free-range eggs are eggs produced from birds that may be permitted outdoors. The term "free-range" may be used differently depending on the country and the relevant laws, and is not regulated in many areas. Eggs from hens that are only indoors m ...

standards. In 2018, Rose Acre Farms donated $200,000 for a new animal science complex on the nearby campus of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. In April 2018, Rose Acre Farms announced that, due to concerns over ''

Salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is fur ...

'', they would be voluntarily recalling more than 200 million eggs which originated at its facility in

Hyde County, North Carolina Hyde County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,589, making it the second-least populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Swan Quarter. The county was created in 170 ...

. All recalled eggs were conventional eggs from hens raised in

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

facilities. The

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) investigation found, among other things, numerous rodents in the manure pits below the battery cages. It was the largest egg recall in the country since 2010.{{cite news, title=200 million eggs recalled over salmonella fears, url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/04/14/200-million-eggs-recalled-over-salmonella-fears/518245002/, access-date=15 April 2018, work=

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

, date=April 14, 2018, language=en

References

Agriculture companies of the United States Companies based in Indiana Farms in Indiana Farms in the United States 2018 in the United States Egg farming