More than 70 people across seven states have been sickened due to a salmonella outbreak linked to eggs recalled by a California-based egg distributor, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Friday, the August Egg Company recalled 1.7 million dozen brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs, sold under multiple brand names, that have the “potential to be contaminated,” according to a recall notice from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Of the 79 people sickened, 21 people have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported, the CDC said.
The eggs were sold to restaurants and retailers in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington and Wyoming, according to the CDC. They were distributed at retail locations including Walmart, Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raleys, Food 4 Less and Ralphs.
Salmonella can “cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” according to the FDA. Salmonella can also cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in healthy people who get infected.
“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,” the company said in a statement provided to the FDA. “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.”
The company also said its internal food safety team is “conducting its own stringent review” to identify future preventative measures. “We are committed to addressing this matter fully and to implementing all necessary corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again,” the company said.
The CDC recommends that anyone who has the recalled eggs in their home or business throw them out or return them to the store where they were purchased.