Washington ( CNN ) -- The companies that have recalled more than half a billion eggs following a salmonella outbreak fell short of safety standards at their farms , FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Sunday . `` There 's no question these farms involved in the recall were not operating with the standards of practice we consider responsible , '' Hamburg told CNN . She said `` about 1,000 '' people have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak that federal regulators have traced back to two Iowa egg producers . One of those companies said Sunday it is `` devastated '' by the possible connection between its product and salmonella . Hillandale Farms of Iowa announced Friday it was recalling more than 170 million eggs . Another 380 million have been recalled by another Iowa producer , Wright County Egg , after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration linked the eggs to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened hundreds of people nationwide . `` We are devastated that our eggs have been implicated in making people sick , '' Hillandale Farms , one of the largest U.S. producers , said in a statement issued Sunday . `` We have never had a product recall in our 45-year history , and it flies in the face of our mission to provide wholesome , nutritious food for the American public . We regret that anyone might have become ill , and the concern and disruption this has caused our customers . '' The eggs were shipped to 17 states across the country . The company said it would work with the FDA to review its `` every phase of our operation '' and fix any problems . Hillandale Farms said it shared `` a number of common suppliers '' with Wright County Egg , including a company called Quality Egg , which provided feed and young birds . Both Wright County and Quality Egg are owned by the DeCoster family , which has a string of agribusiness interests in the Midwest and Northeast . Those companies ' records have come under new scrutiny since the recalls were announced earlier this month . In June , company owner Jack DeCoster admitted to 10 civil counts of animal cruelty in Maine after a nonprofit animal welfare group conducted an undercover video investigation and forwarded its findings to Maine animal welfare officials . Dr. Donald E. Hoenig , the Maine state veterinarian , said the allegations included keeping too many birds in case , failing to treat injured chickens or promptly remove dead animals and improper euthanization . Hoenig said DeCoster and his company agreed to a $ 25,000 fine and made a $ 100,000 payment to reimburse the state for future monitoring of the facility . In 1996 , the Labor Department accused DeCoster of maintaining `` sweatshop conditions '' for migrant workers at its Turner , Maine , chicken farm , where then-Labor Secretary Robert Reich said workers risked salmonella by handling dead chickens and manure with their bare hands . The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined it $ 3.6 million . In January 2002 , the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hit another DeCoster company with allegations that its supervisors sexually assaulted and harassed female employees , including some of whom were in the country illegally , and threatened to retaliate against them if they complained . The managers were fired for `` unrelated reasons , '' the EEOC said , and DeCoster agreed to pay a settlement of more than $ 1.5 million . And in 2000 , Iowa 's attorney general declared DeCoster a `` habitual violator '' of state environmental laws after a series of discharges of manure from his hog-farming operations . He paid a $ 150,000 penalty , had to build six concrete storage structures and his company was barred from expanding those operations . In a statement issued Sunday night , Wright County Egg said it was working with the FDA on the current recalls and defended its record . `` When issues have been raised about our farms , our management team has addressed them swiftly and effectively , working with recognized outside experts to identify and establish corrective measures for our operations , '' it said . `` We are approaching our work with FDA in the same forthright manner . '' While the recall involves hundreds of millions of eggs , they represent less than 1 percent of the 80 billion eggs produced in the United States each year , said Krista Eberle , director of the food safety program at the trade association Egg Safety Institute . `` This is one of the larger recalls that have happened , '' Eberle said . But she added , `` This is an extremely rare occurrence . '' CNN 's Don Lemon , Sandra Endo and Matt Smith contributed to this report .
FDA commissioner says `` about 1,000 '' sickened by salmonella . The agency has been investigating the outbreak since it was first reported in late March. Hillandale Farms says it shared supplier with Wright County Egg . Wright County says managers addressed problems `` swiftly and effectively ''