The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are investigating a multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to at least 1.7 million eggs, according to a news release issued on Saturday.
The brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs were distributed by the August Egg Company from Feb. 3 through May 15 to retailers in nine states — California, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Nebraska, New Mexico, Illinois, Indiana and Wyoming, per the FDA.
In an announcement issued Friday, the Hilmar, California-based distribution company recalled 1.7 million eggs, which have sell-by dates ranging from March 4 to June 19 and were sold at retailers including Walmart and Safeway, as well as under many different brands that can be seen here.
So far, the outbreak has sickened 79 people in New Jersey, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona, Washington state and California, the CDC said. At least 21 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
“This outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses, and the true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported,” the CDC said. “This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella.”
Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can make people sick if they consume contaminated food and water, or touch animals, their fecal matter or the areas they live in, according to the CDC. It is “a leading cause of food-borne illness, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States and worldwide,” causing about 1.35 million infections in the U.S. every year.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps and can start six hours to six days after consumption of the bacteria. Children under five, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems can become seriously ill as a result of contracting salmonella.
The CDC is advising anyone who has the recalled eggs in their home to throw them away or return them to the retailer that sold them. Businesses with recalled eggs should not sell or serve them, and should sanitize any item or surface that came into contact with the eggs.
The August Egg Company said it began taking its eggs to an “egg-breaking facility” to pasteurize them and kill pathogens after learning about the salmonella concern.
“August Egg Company’s internal food safety team also is conducting its own stringent review to identify what measures can be established to prevent this situation from recurring,” the company said in a statement. “We are committed to addressing this matter fully and to implementing all necessary corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again.”
This isn’t the only salmonella outbreak the U.S. is currently grappling with.
Last month, the FDA announced a recall of cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales due to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 45 people and hospitalized 16 across 18 states.
The FDA’s investigation into the cucumbers is ongoing.
