As if there wasn’t already enough consumer stress about eggs these days, a distributor of eggs sold under a variety of brand names across multiple states is recalling at least 1.7 million dozen eggs. According to a recall notice issued on June 6 by California-based August Egg Company, the brown cage-free and brown certified-organic eggs “have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.”
So far, 79 illnesses and 21 hospitalizations across seven states have been linked to the recalled eggs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. No deaths have been reported.
The recalled eggs were distributed to retail stores in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington and Wyoming, according to the CDC. They were sold with sell-by dates ranging from March 4, 2025 to June 4, 2025, in California and Nevada to retailers including Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raleys, Food 4 Less and Ralphs. They were also distributed to Walmart stores in California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois with sell-by dates between March 4, 2025 and June 19, 2025.
The recalled brown cage-free and brown certified-organic eggs were sold in both fiber and plastic cartons and feature the plant code number P-6562 or CA5330 as well as “Julian Dates” between 32 to 126 on those cartons.
A complete list of brand names, plant numbers and UPC symbols — as well as a selection of product images — can be found here.
In healthy people, Salmonella infection may cause fever, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal pain. Infection can be serious or even life-threatening in very young, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. If Salmonella gets in the bloodstream, it can cause severe illnesses including arterial infections (that is, infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. More information about Salmonella infection can be found here.
As the issue is being investigated, August Egg Company has stopped selling — and begun safely destroying — its fresh shell eggs. It is also conducting an internal review to ensure appropriate action is taken to maintain the safety of its eggs going forward.
“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 firm says. “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.”
Customers who have the recalled eggs should not consume them and should wash and sanitize any surface with which they may have come into contact. They can return the eggs to their place of purchase for a refund. Those with questions may contact August Egg Company at 1-800-710-2554 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT.
Source: By Amy Reiter foodnetwork.com
