Salmonella Outbreak Expands Egg RecallAugust 19, 2010 - 10:51 AM | by: Jonathan Serrie
Undercooked breakfast eggs are not the only concern, as federal health officials investigate a salmonella outbreak that has sickened an estimated 300 people around the country. Experts believe some of the victims may have become ill by consuming undercooked eggs in soups or raw eggs in salad dressing.
Tanja Dzinovic of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa. She blames the egg producer for a case of salmonella infection she suffered back in June after eating a Cobb salad at a restaurant in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that food service establishments use pasteurized egg products or pasteurized in-shell eggs instead of eggs that are raw, undercooked or pooled. (Pooled eggs are raw, unpasteurized eggs that have been cracked open and mixed together).
Wright County Egg has expanded its recall to include some 380 million eggs shipped to distributors, wholesalers and foodservice companies in 17 states. As for the specific eggs involved, the company offers the following guidance:
“Eggs are packaged under the following brand names: Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223.”