More Than 3 Dozen People Sickened by Salmonella as Massive Egg Recall Continues

A massive egg recall linked to salmonella was recently expanded after more than a dozen people “reported contracting the foodborne illness after eating the popular breakfast food item.” According to the original recall notice, 35 people across nine different states fell ill with salmonella poisoning “after eating eggs that were traced back to” an April recall. At the time the April recall was issued, 22 people had been sickened and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that “more than 207 million eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Ind., were being recalled due to possible salmonella contamination.”

A massive egg recall linked to salmonella was recently expanded after more than a dozen people “reported contracting the foodborne illness after eating the popular breakfast food item.” According to the original recall notice, 35 people across nine different states fell ill with salmonella poisoning “after eating eggs that were traced back to” an April recall. At the time the April recall was issued, 22 people had been sickened and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that “more than 207 million eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Ind., were being recalled due to possible salmonella contamination.”

In light of the recall expanding, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement saying that “those infected with salmonella had reported feeling ill between November 16, 2017, and April 14.” It turns out that, in most of those cases, including seven that involved hospitalization, the infected people were from “Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Colorado were also affected.” Of those infected, 16 people claim they fell ill after eating “egg dishes from different restaurants” while another 22 people “said they ate shelled eggs before contracting salmonella,” according to the CDC. As if that weren’t bad enough, officials believe that “more illnesses could be reported from people who ate the bad eggs after March 23.”

So just how many eggs were included in the recall and where were they sold? For starters, the recall was issued by Rose Acre Farms and so far includes 206,749,248 eggs “sold under several brands and distributed to retail stores and restaurants.” Shortly after Rose Acre Farms issued its recall, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. “issued its own recall for 23,400 dozen eggs that it bought from the farm.” In addition, Hyde County farm in North Carolina that “produces 2.3 million eggs a day” was also inspected by FDA officials after reports of illnesses began trickling in.

Salmonella is nothing to scoff at and should be taken seriously. If you think you may have eaten contaminated eggs, there are certain signs and symptoms to look for. For example, people infected with salmonella may “develop symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.” In rare cases, the sickness can even be fatal and is especially dangerous for children, pregnant women, and the elderly. In addition, the “bacteria can also cause arterial infections, endocarditis, and arthritis on rare occasions.”

Salmonella itself can contaminate eggs when “infected chickens transfer the foodborne bacteria to the eggs before the shells are formed. It can also pass through chicken feces getting on the eggs,” according to the CDC.

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Salmonella outbreak linked to massive egg recall sickens nearly three dozen people

Salmonella sickens dozens of people after massive recall of 207 million eggs