Plagues, Pestilences and Diseases
Egg recall grows to 400 million, hundreds have been made sick from
Salmonella
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 19, 2010 2:21 p.m. EDT
An estimated 400 million eggs have been recalled since last week
because of concerns they may be tainted with salmonella.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: A law firm specializing in food poisoning cases has filed a
suit related to the tainted eggs
* The CDC estimates hundreds of Americans have been rendered ill by
contaminated eggs
* Iowa's Wright County Egg has recalled 400 million eggs due to
salmonella concerns
* The U.S. egg industry produced about 6.5 billion eggs in April
The Egg Safety Center has a complete list of recalled eggs, their
expiration dates, and brands.
(CNN) -- Hundreds of Americans have likely become ill from tainted
eggs, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, CDC spokeswoman Lola Russell said Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration, which investigates food
contamination, said the CDC received reports of approximately 200
salmonella cases every week during late June and early July. Normally,
the CDC has received an average of some 50 reports of salmonella
illness each week for the past five years. Many states have also
reported increases of this pattern since May 2010, the FDA said.
One Wisconsin woman infected by salmonella has filed a lawsuit against
a restaurant that allegedly served contaminated eggs linked to the
nationwide outbreak of the potentially-deadly bacteria.
Plaintiff Tanja Dzinovic said she got sick after eating at the Baker
Street Restaurant and Pub in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in June. She recently
retained the Seattle, Washington-based law firm Marler Clark, which
specializes in food poisoning cases, and amended her lawsuit against
the restaurant to include Wright County Egg, an Iowa-based company that
the Egg Safety Center says has recalled 380 million eggs since last
week.
In the legal complaint, Marler Clark says, "defendant Baker Street
Restaurant and Pub purchased and used in the manufacture of its menu
items Salmonella-contaminated shell eggs subject to defendant Wright
County Egg's August 16, 2010 recall."
The Kenosha County Health Department closed the restaurant on July 13
to investigate an outbreak of "at least 30 confirmed Salmonella
enteritidis illnesses... including the plaintiff's," according to the
complaint.
L & K Tricoli, LLC, which owns the Baker Street Restaurant and Pub,
did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
Salmonella, which is generally contracted from contaminated poultry,
meat, eggs, or water, impacts the intestinal tract.
Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, which typically
begin within 12 to 72 hours, according to the CDC. Vomiting, chills,
headache and muscle pains may also occur, according to the Mayo Clinic.
These symptoms last about four to seven days, and then go away without
specific treatment in healthy people. Antidiarrheal medications may
help with cramps, but they may also prolong the diarrhea, the Mayo
Clinic said.
The elderly, infants, and people with impaired immune systems are at
heightened risk for developing a more serious illness because of
salmonella, the CDC said. Some people can develop life-threatening
complications if the infection spreads beyond the intestines. In that
case, a doctor may need to prescribe antibiotics to kill the bacteria.
Other infected people may also require medical attention for
dehydration due to persistent diarrhea. Warning signs for extreme
dehydration include sunken eyes, dry mouth and tongue, decreased urine
output, and reduced production of tears, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Chickens can pass the bacteria to eggs because the eggs leave hens
through the same passageway as feces, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Alternatively,
bacteria in the hen's ovary or oviduct can get to the egg before the
shell forms around it, FSIS said.
The Egg Safety Center is run by United Egg Producers, which describes
itself as a cooperative of egg farmers from all across the United
States, representing the ownership of approximately 95 percent of all
the nation's egg-laying hens.
On its website, United Egg Producers says that U.S. egg farmers
produced almost 6.5 billion table eggs in April, the most recent month
for which statistics are available. The average American eats about 250
eggs per year, the trade group says.
Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, which announced an earlier recall last
week, added several more batches and brands to the recall Wednesday
afternoon.
"Wright County Egg is fully cooperating with FDA's investigation by
undertaking this voluntary recall," the company said in a statement.
"Our primary concern is keeping salmonella out of the food supply and
away from consumers. As a precautionary measure, Wright County Egg also
has decided to divert its existing inventory of shell eggs from the
recalled plants to a breaker, where they will be pasteurized to kill
any salmonella bacteria present."
After the uptick in salmonella infections, the CDC and the FDA traced
the source and determined it was most likely eggs from Wright County
Egg. The company says it is working to determine how the shell eggs are
being contaminated.
Krista Eberle, director of food safety programs at the Egg Safety
Center, reiterated that only shell eggs are affected by the Wright
County recall.
"From what we know they only do shell eggs, and if they did extra egg
products, they are still considered to be safe," Eberle said. She added
that egg products such as egg whites and dried eggs go through
pasteurization and extensive heat treatment, so they're considered safe
to eat and the Egg Safety Center is not concerned the other products
might be sullied with bacteria.
The new recall covers eggs branded as Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James
Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and
Pacific Coast and are marked with a three-digit code ranging from 136
to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942, the company said. In addition,
NuCal Foods, which, on its website, calls itself the largest
distributor of shell eggs in the western United States, announced
Thursday it was "voluntarily recalling specific ... dates of shell eggs
produced by Wright County Egg and packaged by NuCal Foods because they
have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella."
The earlier recall covered the Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy,
Ralph's, Boomsma, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh,
Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps brands that were marked with
with a three-digit code ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026,
1413 and 1946.
The four-digit plant number begins with "P - " and is followed by the
three-digit code.
Both recalls affect eggs packed in several different sized cartons,
from a half-dozen to 18 eggs. Only shell eggs are affected by the
recall, the company said.
Consumers are encouraged to return the eggs in their original packaging
to where they were purchased for a full refund.
Salmonella bacteria can be found inside and outside of eggs that appear
to be normal.
Given the health risks posed by eggs, the FDA offers the following
safety advice on its website:
-- Don't eat recalled eggs or products containing recalled eggs.
Recalled eggs might still be in grocery stores, restaurants, and
consumers' homes. Consumers who have recalled eggs should discard them
or return them to their retailer for a refund. Individuals who think
they might have become ill from eating recalled eggs should consult
their health care providers.
-- Keep shell eggs refrigerated at temperatures no higher than 45
degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) at all times.
-- Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
-- Wash hands, cooking utensils, and food preparation surfaces with
soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
-- Eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm and
eaten promptly after cooking.
-- Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
-- Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods promptly.
-- Avoid eating raw eggs.
-- Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized
eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as
Hollandaise sauce or Caesar salad dressing) that calls for raw eggs.
-- Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided, especially
by young children, elderly persons, and person with weakened immune
systems or debilitating illness.
CNN's Elizabeth Landau, Caitlin Hagan, Val Willingham and Mark
Morgenstein contributed to this report