Egg recall: Brown eggs sold at some Walmart stores have salmonella risk

A California company is recalling 1.7 million cartons of brown eggs – sold at stores including Walmart in nine states – because the eggs may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

August Egg Company of Hilmar, Calif., is recalling 1,700,000 dozen brown cage-free and brown certified organic eggs for potential salmonella risk. The eggs were distributed over the last four months, some with sell by dates as late as June 19, according to the recall notice from the Food and Drug Administration.

The eggs are linked to an ongoing Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in seven states, in which 79 people have been sickened and at least 21 hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most of the persons sickened (63) live in California, according to the CDC. Nevada and Washington reported four illnesses each, with additional cases in Arizona (3), New Jersey (2), Nebraska (2), Kentucky (1). Ill people in Kentucky, New Jersey, and Washington reported traveling to California and Nevada before they got sick. Most of those sickened (90%) reported eating eggs, the CDC said.

Some samples taken by the FDA during an inspection at August Egg Company's processing facility tested positive for the strain of salmonella similar to those related to the persons sickened in the outbreak, the CDC said.

August Egg Co. said its internal food safety team is conducting its own investigation to "identify what measures can be established to prevent this situation from recurring," the company said in a statement accompanying the recall. “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."

Here's where August Egg Co. eggs were sold

The recalled eggs were distributed beginning Feb. 3 across multiple retailers in nine states:

• Eggs with sell-by dates to June 4:Through May 15, eggs with those sell-by dates were distributed to Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raleys, Food 4 Less and Ralphs stores in California and Nevada.

• Eggs with sell-by dates to June 19:Through May 6, eggs with those sell-by dates were distributed to Walmart locations in California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois.

Eggs recalled for salmonella risk

August Egg Co. said consumers can identify the recalled eggs by the plant code on one side of the egg carton. They can return the eggs to the place of purchase for a refund. Consumers with questions can call the company at 1-800-710-2554, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT.

Here's the products recalled with plant code and UPC.

Salmonella symptoms

Salmonella causes about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths each year in the U.S., according to the CDC and FDA.

Symptoms of salmonella infection – including diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps – typically arise six hours to six days after exposure and may last 4 to 7 days. Severe infections can also include aches, headaches, elevated fever, lethargy, rashes, and blood in the urine or stool.