Boiled egg recall spreads to Walmart, Kroger, Costco and ShopRite
A recall of hard-boiled eggs and egg salads linked to a deadly listeria outbreak has been expanded to include major retailers including Walmart, Trader Joe's, Kroger, Costco and ShopRite. The widened recall includes popular brands and organic fare such as Egglands Best, Pete & Gerry's and Vital Farms.
Georgia processor Almark Foods earlier in the week expanded a recall to include all hard-boiled egg products from a facility in Gainesville, with Dierbergs Markets, Reichel Foods and two other companies so far issuing recalls as a result.
Great American Deli recalled egg salad sandwiches sold at convenience stores and vending machines in the following states: Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Bakkavor Foods initiated a recall involving egg products from Almark and sold as Trader Joe's Egg Salad and Trader Joe's Old Fashioned Potato Salad, according to a notice posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes hard-boiled eggs produced by Almark are contaminated with listeria that has sickened people in Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. One person in Texas died and four others were hospitalized as a result of the infection, the CDC reported.
Three of the infections from the outbreak strain of the pathogen occurred in 2017 and four others occurred this year, according to the agency.
While reported cases in the outbreak are limited to five states, officials now believe potentially contaminated products were shipped to retailers nationwide, and including brand names including Almark Foods, Egggs Select, Nic's Peeled Pearls, Rainbow Farms and Sutherland's Food Service. A list of recalled products can be found here.
Affected products have a "Best If Used By" date that starts with a G, which means the product was manufactured at the Gainesville facility and should not be consumed but discarded instead, the FDA said.