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DeCosters appeal jail sentences

SIOUX CITY (AP) – Two former egg industry executives are appealing the three-month jail sentences a judge has ordered for their roles in a 2010 food poisoning outbreak.

The appeals filed Monday by Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, had been expected.

U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett ordered the jail time earlier this month, citing a “litany of shameful conduct” that happened at their large Iowa egg production company. But Bennett allowed them to stay free while they appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Federal investigators traced the 2010 salmonella outbreak to eggs that came from the DeCosters’ company, Quality Egg. Thousands of people were sickened and more than 500 million eggs were voluntarily recalled.

The DeCosters’ attorneys argue that jail time is unconstitutional for the crime.

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