The Food and Government Administration (FDA) has upgraded a recall on millions of eggs to Class I, warning American consumers that the eggs could cause “serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The egg recall was first reported in September when the FDA announced that Milo’s Poultry Farms LLC, an Amish-owned farm in Bonduel, Wisconsin, was recalling all of its “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” eggs as a result of a salmonella bacteria outbreak.
On Monday, the FDA confirmed to Fox Business that the agency had upgraded the egg recall to Class I status. The FDA’s website describes Class I recalls as “situation[s] in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
According to the FDA’s website, the current egg recall affects 345,417 dozen cartons of eggs, which is over four million eggs. The FDA warned that the recall was initiated because the “eggs have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.”
Fox Business reported that “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” eggs were sold in restaurants and stores in states such as Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin over the summer months. The CDC previously reported that 65 individuals had become sick and 24 individuals were hospitalized due to the salmonella outbreak; however, no deaths have been reported.
READ MORE: 65 sick, 24 hospitalized amid bacteria outbreak
In a September press release, the FDA warned, “Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.”
The FDA’s recall of Milo’s Poultry Farms and Tony’s Fresh Market eggs came after the agency discovered that the eggs tested positive for salmonella in September.
In September’s press release, the FDA wrote, “The recall was initiated after the FDA informed the company that environmental samples tested positive for the bacteria. FDA also conducted whole genome sequencing and found that the samples were related to an ongoing Salmonella outbreak investigation.”
The FDA explained that the egg recall includes all egg cartons labeled “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” and includes all expiration dates. American consumers have been warned not to eat any of the recalled eggs but to instead dispose of or return the eggs and clean any surfaces or items that have come into contact with the eggs.
