Arizona's Own...Hickman Eggs are Safe!

The recall of about 500 million eggs is having a ripple effect on Arizona’s only major egg farmer. Last week, two Iowa egg producers, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Egg, recalled eggs due to an outbreak of salmonella. Clint Hickman is the vice president of sales and marketing for Hickman’s Egg Farms and wants people to know that his family’s products are safe and not connected with any recall. “Food safety is an absolute necessity for how we do business. We are proud of what we do. We brand our eggs with our family name and we feed our own families with our own eggs,” Hickman said. The Hickman family has been in the egg business for three generations and is the state’s only large egg producer. Hickman said the firm has been fielding questions from consumers as well as potential buyers and brokers as the nationwide egg recall has grown. While Hickman declined to discuss specific numbers, his current business clients are increasing their existing orders and the firm is fielding calls from new ones. “We are seeing activity from people in Western states, but the most important thing for us is to take care of, and respond to, the needs of our long-time customers first,” Hickman said. Hickman said the family has had long-term safety measures in place to protect their products and their clients from such instances. The firm vaccinates their flock, they wash their eggs twice before going to market and also use an ultraviolet disinfection process. Although hens can lay eggs with salmonella, the bacteria is destroyed by heat and proper cooking. People can become sick if they eat raw or incompletely cooked eggs. Salmonella typically causes diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pains. In rare instances, it can cause more serious illness. Article Courtesy of Lynn Ducey of PBJ