Superbug-Infected Chicken is Being Sold All Over the US

This article excerpt features Government Accountability Project’s whistleblower client, Rudy Howell, and was originally published here.

A complaint filed with the Bureau of Consumer Protection from February 2021 documented the traumatic catching process, detailing how Tyson sends “catching crews” into the grow houses to grab the chickens that are big enough for slaughter.

The catchers “grab the birds by the legs and carry them upside down by their ankles – multiple birds in each hand – before pushing them into the transport cages,” the complaint said. The cages are not tall enough for the birds to stand upright, and so many birds are packed into each that they do not have room to move or spread their wings.

Rudy Howell, who reared chickens for Perdue from 1994 until summer 2020, has also made a series of allegations about the company. In 2021 Howell filed a complaint to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration against Perdue for alleged wrongful discharge after he spoke out about their practices. Perdue disputes his allegations and accuses him of having breached biosecurity measures by inviting a film crew onto his farm.

Howell’s allegations related to inadequate hygiene and disease control measures, including the claim that Perdue sometimes delivered chicks in dirty trays and used dirty machines to catch chickens.

Andrea Staub, spokesperson for Perdue, said: “Food safety, farmer relationships and animal care are top priorities for us at Perdue. Our 101-year-old business is built on attention to detail at every step of our supply chain, as well as trust and collaboration with the farmers who raise our animals.”

Howell told the Bureau he never received any information about whether tests for diseases had been carried out before the chicks were delivered to his farm. Tests were not always carried out after he alerted the firm about the worrying rates of illness among new flocks, he added.

“You don’t get nothing. You just pick up dead birds. That’s all they do is tell you to pick up the dead birds.”