Salmonella outbreak linked to California egg distributor sickens 79 people

As of Friday, a salmonella outbreak linked to a California egg producer had sickened at least 79 people. Of the infected people, 21 hospitalizations were reported, U.S. health officials said.

Organic and cage-free brown eggs from August Egg Company with specific sell-by dates distributed across nine states and retail locations should be thrown away or returned to where they were purchased, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

The CDC report acknowledged that the number of sick people in the outbreak was likely much higher than the number reported, because most people with salmonella recover without seeking medical care or getting tested for the bacterial infection.

August Egg Company voluntarily recalled 1.7 million dozen eggs that may be contaminated with salmonella, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a company announcement shared by the federal agency, the egg supplier said that as soon as it found possible Salmonella contamination, it began diverting all eggs from its processing plant to an egg-breaking facility, which pasteurizes the eggs to remove bacteria.

The recalled eggs were sold under several brand names, including Clover, First Street, Nulaid, O Organics, Marketside, Raleys, Simple Truth, Sun Harvest and Sunnyside.

The recalled eggs were sold in California and Nevada with sell-by dates from March 4, 2025, to June 4, 2025, at grocery stores and retail locations including Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raley's, Food 4 Less and Ralphs.

They were also distributed to Walmart locations in Nevada and California and seven other states — Washington, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois —with different sell-by dates ranging from March 4, 2025, to June 19, 2025.

In the CDC report from Friday, officials confirmed they had identified two illness "sub-clusters," groups of people who became sick after eating at the same location or event, such as a restaurant. According to the report, eggs were served at both locations.

Last month, San Diego health officials reported recording 37 probable and confirmed cases of people sick with Salmonella after dining at a restaurant in the San Diego area. In a statement released on May 8, city officials said, "The source of the Salmonella outbreak has not been identified and the investigation is ongoing."

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover from the bacterial disease within a week, but it can be fatal in children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

To determine whether you have recalled eggs in your home, the FDA reported that the contaminated eggs have the plant code number P-6562 or CA5330 printed on their packaging.
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