The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a new warning about thousands of recalled eggs sold at Costco (COST-0.30%) stores due to potential contamination with salmonella, a bacterium that can cause serious infections. The recall has been elevated to the FDA's highest risk level.
Just days before Christmas, the FDA upgraded the recall to Class I, which it defines as a situation where there is a reasonable likelihood that using or being exposed to the recalled product could result in severe health issues or even death.
The FDA said on Dec. 20. that eggs from an environment that tested positive for salmonella were shipped to retail stores.
New York-based Handsome Brook Farms initially issued a voluntary recall on Nov. 27 of over 10,000 cases of its Kirkland Signature -- Costco's private label -- organic, pasture-raised eggs.
"The recall was initiated after the company determined that eggs not intended for retail distribution were instead packaged and distributed in retail packaging," Handsome Brook Farms said in a statement on their website. "Additional supply chain controls and retraining are being put in place to prevent recurrence."
In total, 10,800, 24-count cases of eggs with the use by date of January 5, 2025 are being recalled. The eggs were distributed to 25 Costco stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee beginning on Nov. 22.
No illness have been publicly linked to the roughly quarter-million eggs being recalled at this time.
Health regulators are asking customers to dispose of any recalled eggs or to return them to their local Costco store for a full refund.
Salmonella is a bacteria that is normally found in the the intestines of people and animals, but certain types of salmonella can cause serious infections.
It is the leading cause of food-borne illness, hospitalizations, and deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC). Salmonella causes an estimated 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 42o deaths every year in the United States.
Common symptoms of a salmonella infection include fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps - most people can recover without treatment in about a week. However, children under 5 years old, adults over 65 years old, and people with weakened immune systems are more at risk of developing a severe illness from an infection and could require hospitalization.