Much is made of British resistance to an increase in American food imports. Chlorinated chicken is the poster child for conflicting food standards between us and our baseball-loving cousins, but perhaps the regular news of salmonella outbreaks over there ought to be more cause for concern.
Along with recent recalls on cucumbers and tomatoes, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued another on eggs.
The August Egg Company, parent company of Sunnyside, Clover, Raley’s and more, has recalled 1.7 million dozen (20.4 million) over a potential salmonella outbreak. At the time of writing, 79 food poisoning cases linked with the eggs have been reported across 7 US states, with 21 hospitalisations.
The FDA specifically flagged August Egg’s ‘brown cage-free and brown certified organic egg’ shipped to Walmart and other grocers across California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana, and Illinois. For our concerned American readers, they’re marked as best-before March 4th to June 19th, with codes P-6562 or CA5330.
“August Egg Company of Hilmar, CA is voluntarily recalling 1,700,000 dozen shell eggs processed at our California plant and sold to various grocery customers," the company said in the FDA's recall announcement.
"This recall has been initiated due to possible Salmonella enteritidis contamination, which poses a health risk. With that in mind, 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.
“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.
“August Egg Company’s internal food safety team also is conducting its own stringent review to identify what measures can be established to prevent this situation from recurring. We are committed to addressing this matter fully and to implementing all necessary corrective actions to ensure this does not happen again.”
Salmonella is a leading cause of food poisoning, with mild cases including stomach cramps, diarrhoea and nausea and severe cases being life-threatening.
It’s recommended that the eggs are thrown away, and you shouldn’t be tempted to chance them. Salmonella food poisoning symptoms usually begin with 72 hours of eating contaminated foods. Along with the aforementioned symptoms, you may also experience vomiting, a fever, headaches, chills, fatigue, a loss of appetite and an increased risk of dehydration.
If you fall ill with food poisoning, you should see a doctor if the diarrhoea lasts for more than 24 hours, if you’re vomiting excessively or persistently, if there’s blood in your poo, if you run a fever of 39 degrees centigrade or higher, if you have signs of dehydration, and if you either have a weakened immune system or are pregnant.
It’s unwelcome news in these cash-strapped times on either side of the pond, especially if you’re conscious of food waste, but it’s vitally important that you don’t put your health at risk for the sake of a few dollars.
Anyone who’s had even a mild bout of food poisoning will know that it’s no joke.
If you’ve got the flagged eggs, it’s recommended that you clean any surface they’ve touched with disinfectant and you should consider throwing away any unsealed foods that have been near them. It’s also important to thoroughly wash your hands after handling them, and don’t touch your face or any other surfaces until you’ve finished cleaning.
Featured Image Credit: Nitat Termmee/Getty Images
Rachael Davis