The company’s Bonnee-Best plant on Tomken Road in
Mississauga was criticized dozens of times for poor housekeeping – eg. dust and
mould, walls and windows that needed painting and drains that were clogged.
There were a few instances of graded eggs that did not meet
standard and the CFIA inspector ordered them to be re-graded.
The situation was similar at the company’s grading station
at Lyn, close to where owner Joe Hudson and his family live and have their main
chicken barns.
There were, however, fewer citations for the housekeeping
issues and of graded eggs that failed to meet specifications.
It’s possible that the records were sought by lawyers
representing Burnbrae, the Egg Farmers of Ontario chicken marketing board or
Sweda Farms Ltd., which has sued the others.
The original release of records was followed up by a request
by an agriculture-industry reporter.
Eggs that failed to meet grading specifications are at the
heart of one of the main complaints filed by Sweda against those two and L.H.
Gray and Son Ltd.
That lawsuit, now four years old, is still tied up in
procedural maneuvering.