Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Eggs Sickens Over 70 Across Seven States
More than 70 people in seven states have fallen ill due to a salmonella outbreak traced back to eggs distributed by a California-based company, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed.
On Friday, August Egg Company issued a recall of 1.7 million dozen brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs sold under various brand names, warning they may be contaminated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared the recall notice, urging consumers and businesses to take immediate action.
What You Need to Know About the Outbreak
So far, 79 people have been sickened, and 21 of them have required hospitalization. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported. The affected eggs were sold at restaurants and retailers across Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming.
Some of the stores carrying the recalled eggs include major retailers like Walmart, Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raleys, Food 4 Less, and Ralphs.
Why Salmonella is a Serious Concern
Salmonella infections can cause a range of symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain—even in healthy individuals. For young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, the infection can lead to severe, sometimes life-threatening complications.
What August Egg Company is Doing About It
In a statement to the FDA, August Egg Company emphasized that it is not currently selling fresh shell eggs. The company has been diverting all eggs to an egg-breaking plant for over 30 days, where eggs are pasteurized to kill any harmful pathogens.
“Our internal food safety team is conducting a stringent review to identify how this happened and to prevent future issues,” the company said. “We are fully committed to correcting this situation and ensuring it never happens again.”
What Should You Do?
If you have eggs from this recall at home or in your business, the CDC advises throwing them away or returning them to the store where you bought them. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to potential salmonella contamination.
Stay tuned for updates as health officials continue to monitor the situation and work to protect public safety.
Source: CNN – Salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sickens dozens of people across 7 states
