Egg Recall Expands; Kenosha Restaurant Linked
KENOSHA - A massive egg recall is growing, and it now involves 380 million eggs.
They come from a farm in Iowa, but they've been distributed nationwide and a related salmonella outbreak has been linked locally to a restaurant in Kenosha. If you have a question about your eggs, you can call 866-272-5582.
Last month's salmonella outbreak at that restaurant that got dozens of people sick has been linked to the nationwide egg recall.
Almost 30 people got sick after eating at the Baker Street Restaurant and Pub in Kenosha.
One of the people who got sick decided to sue the restaurant and is now suing egg supplier, Wright County Egg Company, as well.
About 300 people have gotten sick from eggs supplied by Wright County Eggs nationwide.
| More: • Centers for Disease Control • Egg Safety Center |
The owner of the Baker Street Restaurant, Jenny Tricoli, says she and her family are glad to finally know the source of the outbreak.
Still, she says, they feel horrible that people got sick at their restaurant. "That's never your intention, for people to come into your family restaurant, where your whole family works...and get sick from it," she told reporter Lauren Leamanczyk.
The restaurant was closed for a week in July because of the outbreak. Since then, Tricoli says, business has been cut in half.
Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney, is suing Baker Street and Wright Egg Company on behalf of one of the people who contracted salmonella poisoning.
He says the outbreak could grow and affect a thousand people. "I think unfortunately, we may see some fairly significant illnesses, and unfortunately a death or too," Marler says.
Tricoli says Baker Street Restaurant got rid of the contaminated eggs and has checked all of their other eggs to be sure they are safe.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with state health departments to investigate the illnesses. No deaths have been reported, said Dr. Christopher Braden, a CDC epidemiologist involved in the investigation.
Initially, 228 million eggs were recalled, the equivalent of 19 million dozen-egg cartons. But that number was increased to nearly 32 million dozen-egg cartons.
Minnesota, a state with some of the best food-borne illness investigators in the country, has tied at least seven salmonella illnesses to the eggs.
Other states have seen a jump in reports of the type of salmonella. For example, California has reported 266 illnesses since June and believes many are related to the eggs. Colorado saw 28 cases in June and July, about four times the usual number. Spikes or clusters of suspicious cases have also been reported in Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
Salmonella is the most common bacterial form of food poisoning. And the strain involved in the outbreak is the most common strain of salmonella, accounting for roughly 20 percent of all salmonella food poisonings.
Unfortunately, current lab tests do not allow health officials to fingerprint this form of salmonella as precisely as other kinds of food-borne illness. So determining the size of a salmonella enteritidis outbreak is a little more challenging, Braden said.
The Food and Drug Administration also is investigating.
Much of the investigation so far has been centered on restaurants in California, Colorado, Minnesota and North Carolina. They are not necessarily breakfast places -- it's possible some got sick from eating a salad dressing that had a raw egg in it, or eating soup with an undercooked egg dropped in, Braden said.
In North Carolina, a cluster of about 80 illnesses in April were linked to meringue-containing chocolate pie and banana pudding served at a Durham barbecue restaurant, health officials said.
The eggs from Wright County Egg were distributed around the country and packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp. It wasn't immediately clear when the eggs were produced and distributed.
Eggs affected by the expanded recall are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942.
Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223.
The initial recall was issued last week. Eggs affected by the expanded recall were distributed to food wholesalers, distribution centers and food service companies in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
Eggs under the August 13 recall are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.
"We are undertaking this additional recall to further protect the safety of consumers -- this voluntary measure is consistent with our commitment to egg safety, and it is our responsibility," Wright County Egg officials said in a statement Wednesday evening.
In an earlier statement, company officials said the FDA is "on-site to review records and inspect our barns." The officials said they began the recall Aug. 13.
The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight hours to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product. It can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems.
This form of salmonella can be passed from chickens that appear healthy. And it grows inside eggs, not just on the shell, Braden noted.
Thoroughly cooking eggs can kill the bacteria. But health officials are recommending people throw away or return the recalled eggs.





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