By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.Com
August 19, 2010
Wright County Egg, one of the nation's largest egg producers, has
increased the recall of eggs to 380 million, or 32 million cartons.
That's a 66 percent increase since Wednesday.
Meanwhile, health officials are worried that the tainted eggs could spark the worst outbreak of Salmonella in two decades, eclipsing the 2007 outbreak linked to peanut butter.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it has seen more than 300 cases of a dangerous strain of Salmonella in California, Colorado and Minnesota, and officials fear the number will increase. The eventual number could be in the thousands, officials say.
The strain in question, Salmonella enteritidis, is particularly bad because it can affect the inside of an egg. The hen can be contaminated by the bacteria, passing the contaminant along to the whites and yoke of an egg as well as outside the shell.
The birds themselves aren't sick so the producer has no clue that anything is amiss.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says its investigation into the source of the outbreak is continuing, and while eggs are a prime suspect in many cases, other foods could also be involved. Officials have also not yet determined how salmonella got into the Iowa farm.
"This recall highlights the importance of FDA's egg safety rule that was put in place to prevent Salmonella outbreaks such as this one," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). "Because the recalled eggs were produced before the rule went into effect last month, it appears the rule was enforced too late to prevent this outbreak. The lesson from this recall should be applied to food safety legislation -- we must pass a food safety reform bill this year in order to adequately protect our food supply, and reduce or prevent food-borne illnesses."
Brands
The eggs were packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp. They were distributed to food wholesalers, distribution centers and food service companies in California, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa for nationwide distribution.
The recalled eggs carry three different plant numbers: P-1026, P-1413 and P-1946. The plant number is on the end of the egg carton. If it's stamped with one of those numbers, check the numbers after it. If they are between 136 to 225, the CDC says you should take the eggs back to the store.
