Audit finds cracks in Washington’s egg inspection program

Woman working in egg factory (KARRASTOCK/Getty Images)

Washington’s Department of Agriculture failed to complete hundreds of required inspections of egg production and packing facilities in recent years, raising food safety concerns, according to a new state audit.

The State Auditor’s Office found the department only completed 11 of the 548 inspections it was required to carry out under state law between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023.

“By not performing inspections as required by state law and Department policies, there is an increased risk that eggs unfit for human consumption may reach the consumer, posing serious health and safety risks,” according to the auditor’s report .

State law requires the Department of Agriculture to perform inspections at egg production plants yearly and at egg packing plants at least once each quarter.

In its response submitted to the State Auditor’s Office, the department said it did not complete the required inspections because it was short-staffed and because management believed the presence of inspectors at the facilities increased the risk of spreading avian flu.

The agency added that it does not believe quarterly inspections of egg facilities are needed to protect public health and that it hopes to change the law setting the requirement.

In 2022, the department only inspected five of the required 68 facilities. In 2023, it only completed six of the required 69 inspections.

And most of those had not been performed within one year of the previous inspection, as required by state law.

In an email, Gena Reich, food safety and consumer services policy and performance administrator for the agriculture department, said inspections in the last two years have been further limited because of a decline by almost two-thirds in the agency’s food inspection staff, losses she said were related to the COVID pandemic.

In its response to the audit, the department added that the state inspection requirements were adopted 50 years ago when it had a standalone egg inspection program. Today, the state’s food safety program covers food processing plants, storage warehouses, cannabis-infused edible processors and a host of other categories.

“Even in years with no COVID restrictions or high pathogenic avian influenza considerations, which were serious issues in (fiscal years 2022 and 2023), the program does not have sufficient inspection staff to visit egg facilities quarterly,” the department said in their response.

Along with the state Department of Agriculture, Reich said the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspects egg producers quarterly and performs other checks. She said their team plans to look at how the state can eliminate the duplication of efforts by state and federal agencies.

The auditor’s office also found that the department did not use the proper documentation in its inspections. Inspectors used a digital checklist that pre-populated the criteria to show the plant had followed all necessary requirements before an inspector even viewed it. The inspector only made changes if there was a discrepancy.

“The expectation is that our inspection staff know the violations that they need to be looking for without having to work down a checklist. Deviations from regulatory requirements are noted as they are observed and documented,” the department said in its response.

Auditors recommend that the department implement policies to ensure it performs inspections on time and uses inspection criteria aligned with federal laws.

Reich said the department plans to start by determining what is feasible within the program’s constraints.

She added that the department will look at whether to recommend a clause be added to the inspection law that exempts some inspections if there is a highly contagious disease circulating, like COVID or avian flu.