BREITBART
The largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S. has temporarily halted production at a Texas plant after detecting bird flu in chickens, the company announced on Tuesday, noting that the virus was also found at a facility in Michigan.
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. — which is based in Ridgeland, Mississippi — said in a statement that an estimated 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets were destroyed after being infected with avian influenza at the facility in Parmer County, Texas. That number accounts for approximately 3.6 percent of the facility’s total flock, the Associated Press reported.
The plant is located on the Texas-New Mexico border in the state’s panhandle, about 370 miles northwest of Dallas. The company said it sells most of its eggs in the midwestern, mid-Atlantic, southeastern, and southwestern regions of the United States, according to the report.
“The Company continues to work closely with federal, state and local government officials and focused industry groups to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks and effectively manage the response,” the statement said.
