More than 70 people in seven states have gotten sick from a salmonella outbreak linked to recalled eggs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
On Friday, August Egg Company recalled 1.7 million dozen brown cage-free and organic brown eggs. The eggs were sold under different brand names and may be contaminated, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
So far, 79 people have gotten sick, and 21 of them were put in the hospital. No one has died, the CDC said.
The eggs were sent to restaurants and grocery stores in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming. Stores that sold the eggs include Walmart, Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raley’s, Food 4 Less, and Ralphs.
The FDA says salmonella can “cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.” Healthy people can still get symptoms like fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.
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In a statement to the FDA, the company said, “August Egg Company is not selling fresh shell eggs at this time. Our firm has voluntarily been diverting eggs to an egg-breaking plant for over 30 days, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any potential foodborne pathogens.” They added, “It is important to know that when our processing plant identified this concern, we immediately began diverting all eggs from the plant to an egg-breaking facility, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any pathogens.”
{{/usCountry}}In a statement to the FDA, the company said, “August Egg Company is not selling fresh shell eggs at this time. Our firm has voluntarily been diverting eggs to an egg-breaking plant for over 30 days, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any potential foodborne pathogens.” They added, “It is important to know that when our processing plant identified this concern, we immediately began diverting all eggs from the plant to an egg-breaking facility, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any pathogens.”
{{/usCountry}}The company also said their food safety team is “conducting its own stringent review” to find out how to stop this from happening again. “We are committed to addressing this matter fully and to implementing all necessary corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again,” the statement said.
The CDC says anyone who bought the recalled eggs should throw them away or take them back to the store.
Symptoms of Salmonella
Most people who get salmonella have diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
These symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria.
Most people feel better in 4 to 7 days without needing medicine.
But some people—especially kids under 5, adults over 65, and people with weak immune systems—can get very sick and may need to go to the hospital.