An undercover examination by the Humane Culture of the US found unsanitary and "savage" problems at a Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, farm that generates eggs for seller Costco Wholesale Corp, the animal welfare team said on Tuesday.

Footage gathered at a Hillandale Farms establishment in April and May by a person "related to" the Humane Culture revealed hens laying eggs in confined cages with deceased birds. Broken eggs and dead poultries were on the floor.

Hillandale Farms said the employee that collected the video footage was to blame for the lapse in production specifications and that he could be fired soon. The company said it brought in two independent food safety and vet experts to assess its procedures.

Hillandale gives eggs to Costco stores that operate under the brand name Nearby Eggs. The family-owned farm company is an arm of Eggland's Best LLC.

The Humane Society contacted Costco to offer a timetable for its promised shift to cage-free eggs. The team's leaders were speaking with Costco authorities in the future about its examination, Shapiro said.

Costco, the third-largest US store, did not have a prompt remark. The Humane Culture stated it understood the employee who captured the video was fired by the company.

Retailers and meals makers have actually come under boosted attention from activists to improve their animal well-being and meals production practices, including larger pet crates and cages for pets and reducing making use of certain medicines in animals and fowl production.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the biggest U.S. meals store, said in Might that it was telling suppliers not to elevate pets in gestation pet crates and also under various other conditions taken into consideration inhumane. The company also asked distributors to stop using anti-biotics in animal products like meat, fish, shellfish, milk and eggs.