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More than 200 Million Eggs Recalled Amidst Salmonella Fears

 

In the past, we’ve seen a number of salmonella outbreaks, although none of them compare in severity to the recent threat which resulted in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decision to recall over 200 million eggs country-wide.

The decision will have enormous repercussions for Americans – especially those in North Carolina, where the salmonella threat is considered the greatest – who won’t be seeing any egg dishes on restaurant menus for a while. So, if you want to avoid getting sick this salmonella season, it’s important to know where your eggs are coming from.

More than 2 million eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms have been recalled due to a salmonella threat

Salmonella Contamination

On April 9, FDA approved Rose Acre Farms’ request to recall more than 200 million eggs which are suspected to be infected with salmonella. The Indiana-based farms made the voluntary decision to recall the eggs from nine different states after announcing the threat of a possible Branderup contamination. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, braenderup can cause severe sickness in adults and even be fatal for children and the elderly.

So far, 22 salmonella cases from consumption of contaminated eggs have been recorded, almost all of them originating from the East Coast. News reports claim that the first salmonella attack linked to the contamination was reported in March but it wasn’t until last week that the link was confirmed by a lab which found strain of the disease-causing bacteria in a sample of eggs produced in Rose Acre Farms.

The contaminated eggs, which were distributed by the farm, carried a number of brands including Crystal Farms, Sunshine Farms, Food Lion store brand, Country Daybreak, and Coburn Farms among many more. Some of the popular restaurants like Waffle House has admitted to buying eggs from the farm but has sent back most of them after finding out about the contamination risk.

Warning From the FDA

Food and Drug Administration has posted the recall notice on its official website which details the complete list of products which could potentially carry the risk of contamination, as well as the number of salmonella cases reported across the country

FDA has warned retailers and consumers in the states of New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia to be wary of the egg brands they are buying.

According to Rose Acre Farms, the eggs that have been recalled have a specific plant number of P-1065 Julian day number ranging from 011 to 102 – the Julian date counts consecutive days of the year which means that the salmonella carrying eggs were packed and delivered across the country from the date January 11 till April 12. FDA cautioned consumers to check the dates on the egg cartons in their refrigerators before consuming them

After the FDA approved Rose Acre Farms’ decision to recall more than 200 million eggs, people had one question on their minds: what will happen to those millions of eggs? Like in most food recall cases, the 2 million eggs will sadly have to go waste, says FDA, in order to protect people from a salmonella outbreak which can be far more costly to the healthcare system than the eggs.

The Center of Disease Control reports at least 450 deaths from salmonella every year, with most of the cases triggered by food

450 Deaths from Salmonella Reported Every Year

Any contaminated eggs carrying the plant number or production date specified by the Rose Acre Farms should immediately be thrown away or brought back to the store for a refund. If the eggs have touched any surfaces inside the refrigerator or the kitchen, restaurants and consumers are advised to perform a thorough cleaning of the potentially infected areas.

Salmonella isn’t usually considered a life-threatening illness since most healthy people are able to recover from it within a few days without needing any medical treatment. Although in some cases, the symptoms can be much worse than just diarrhea and stomach cramps and require hospitalization.

The Center of Disease Control reports at least 450 deaths from salmonella every year, with most of the cases triggered by food. The most recent case of salmonella outbreak which made more than 260 people sick was spread by a prepackaged chicken salad distributed by a food processing company in Iowa.

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