At Least 1.7 Million Eggs Recalled Across U.S. — Here Are the States Affected

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall of at least 1.7 million eggs.

According to a news release from the organization, “brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs” from the August Egg Company had the “potential to be contaminated” with salmonella, which can cause weakened immune systems and sometimes fatal infections in young or elderly people.

The affected eggs were distributed to Walmart locations in nine states — California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois — between Feb. 3 and May 6 and featured sell-by dates ranging from March 4 to June 19, the FDA said.

The eggs were also distributed to locations such as Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raleys, Food 4 Less and Ralphs in California and Nevada between Feb. 3 and May 15 with sell-by dates ranging from March 4 to June 4, the organization added.

The FDA has shared a full list of the over-20 egg products that are being recalled, including Clover, Sunnyside and Raley’s eggs.

The foot items were sold in fiber or plastic cartons with codes P-6562 or CA5330 printed on one side, the organization said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently investigating what it’s calling the “multi-state outbreak of salmonella infections” connected to the eggs.

A total of 79 cases have been reported in seven states, while 21 people have been hospitalized, per the FDA.

“We believe it is appropriate out of an abundance of caution to conduct this voluntary recall, as consumers may still have these eggs in their homes,” the August Egg Company said in a statement shared with 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.”

On top of the CDC investigation, the August Egg Company added that its internal food safety team is also “conducting its own stringent review” to identify ways to prevent such outbreaks 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 August Egg Company said.

Customers are now being encouraged to return their eggs for a full refund or throw them away.

The CDC said consumers should not eat the eggs, should wash surfaces they may have touched and should contact a healthcare provider if they experience symptoms such as diarrhea, high fever and dehydration.

Per the FDA, the August Egg Company is currently not selling fresh eggs and has been “diverting eggs to an egg-breaking plant for over 30 days” to kill potential foodborne pathogens.