Cal-Maine: Undercover video showed ‘isolated incident’

Cal-Maine Foods has taken corrective action and has been cooperating with the investigations of state and county officials after the company was targeted by an animal rights activist in a video depicting mistreatment of hens at its egg production facility in Lake Wales, Florida. The video, which Cal-Maine said shows an “isolated incident,” has surfaced on the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM) website.According to a statement from Cal-Maine Foods, the world’s largest egg producer, each employee involved in the care and handling of hens is required to review, sign and comply with the company’s code of conduct regarding the ethical treatment of hens, which also requires employees to report any possible violations.However, the person who filmed the video, which Cal-Maine referred to as a “former employee acting as an undercover activist,” made the choice to “disregard required farm procedures as part of his intent to misrepresent our efforts to provide proper care for our hens.”“The employee’s job included identifying and addressing the type of issues shown on the video, and he failed to meet his job requirements,” the company said in a statement.