Health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to eggs that has sickened 95 people across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
California-based Country Eggs LLC issued a recall of its large brown cage-free sunshine yolk eggs on Wednesday. The eggs were also sold under the brand names Nagatoshi Produce, Misuho and Nijiya Markets, according to the Food and Drug Administration. They were also packed for food service as large brown “sunshine yolks” or “omega-3 golden yolks.”
The eggs were delivered to grocery stores and food service distributors in California and Nevada from June 16 through July 9, the FDA said. All have sell-by dates of July 1 through Sept. 16 and have the code “CA-7695” on the carton.
California has reported the majority of the cases, 73. Illnesses have also been reported in 12 other states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Eighteen people have been hospitalized and there have been no deaths, the CDC said.
The CDC saw a surge in illnesses tied to the outbreak in mid-June through mid-July, though cases were detected dating to January. Recent cases may not be reported yet, the agency said, as it takes three to four weeks to determine if an illness is linked to an outbreak.
The true number of cases is likely much higher, the CDC added, because many people recover without treatment and aren’t tested for salmonella. It’s estimated that only 1 in every 30 salmonella cases is diagnosed, the CDC says.
Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, usually starting within six hours to six days after eating contaminated food. Most people recover in four to seven days.
The CDC warns that children under 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems may have more severe illnesses that require treatment.
There are an estimated 1.35 million salmonella infections each year in the U.S., and the bacteria are a leading cause of foodborne illnesses.
Earlier this summer, the CDC quietly scaled back a federal-state partnership that monitors for foodborne illnesses, reducing surveillance to just two pathogens: a severe type of E. coli and salmonella.
