Foster Farms plant sues pest company over cockroaches

LIVINGSTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Foster Farms is suing Orkin LLC over claims the company failed to control a cockroach infestation that forced the closure of its Livingston plant for two weeks last January.

The poultry company filed the lawsuit last month, seeking damages for what the company calls a failure to fulfill a cockroach-control contract. U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors had already threatened to shut down the plant after finding cockroaches five separate times in four months.

The closure in January came following salmonella problems at the Livingston plant and two other Foster Farms sites in Fresno.

There have been a total number of 574 reported antibiotic-resistant salmonella illnesses linked to Foster Farms, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Foster Farms says it has put new measures in place, including tighter screening of birds, improved safety on the farms where the birds are raised and better sanitation in its plants.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.