Yesterday, what started out to be a relatively localized recall by an Iowa company, was expanded to a nationwide, 380 million egg recall after some of the company’s facilities were linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened hundreds of people across the country.

People started reporting to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) getting sick in May, just weeks before new government safety rules went into effect that were intended to greatly reduce the risk of salmonella in eggs.

Several states began seeing an increase in the number of cases of a common type of bacterial illness known as Salmonella Enteritidis in May, said Dr. Christopher R. Braden, acting director of food-borne diseases at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The spike was unusual, but not alarming until the numbers continued to grow. In June and July, a database used to track disease nationwide found that the number of cases had risen from a historical average of about 50 a week to around 200.

Public health officials in several states began to investigate this outbreak and found that many of the people who had gotten sick had eaten food containing eggs. Further investigation traced many tainted eggs to Wright County Egg, of Galt, Iowa.

Recall Details

The company said the recalled eggs came from five plants and were distributed across the country under the brand names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms, Kemps, James Farms, Glenview and Pacific Coast. (Dutch Farms said Wright County packaged eggs under its brand without permission.)

Salmonella Enteritidis is transferred to eggs by infected hens and it can be found inside eggs that appear normal. The bacteria are destroyed by heat, but people can become sick if they eat raw or incompletely cooked eggs.

Regulators have been fighting the problem of salmonella in eggs since it first emerged in the 1980s. But proposals to improve regulations were largely unsuccessful until a year ago, when the FDA announced a new set of rules, which became effective on July 9.

Salmonella can cause diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pains. In rare cases, it can cause more serious illness, including arterial infections. In infants, elderly, and people with compromised immune systems it can be fatal.

It’s hard to determine how many people have gotten sick in the outbreak although it certainly numbered in the hundreds. Typically in salmonella outbreaks, only about one in 30 cases is reported to authorities so thousands of people may have been affected, Dr. Braden said.

Fortunately the FDA has had no reports of deaths due to the tainted eggs as of yet.

How to Protect Yourself

The CDC has some simple steps people can take to protect themselves. First off the agency says, cooking reduces the number of bacteria present in an egg; however, an egg with a runny yolk still poses a greater risk than a completely cooked egg. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. Both should be consumed promptly and not be kept warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

They also recommend:

• Keep eggs refrigerated at ? 45° F (?7° C) at all times.
• Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
• Wash hands, cooking utensils, and food preparation surfaces with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
• Eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm and eaten promptly after cooking.
• Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods promptly.
• Avoid eating raw eggs.
• Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as Hollandaise sauce or Caesar salad dressing) that calls for raw eggs.
• Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided, especially by young children, elderly persons, and persons with weakened immune systems or debilitating illness.

If you still contract Salmonella, fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea should begin around 12 to 72 hours after consuming the eggs. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without antibiotic treatment, mostly thinking that they have a form of the severe flu. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and the person should consider hospitalization if dehydration becomes an issue.

Recall Lawyers

On the July 9 launch of the new regulations, the FDA said in a press release that the new rules would prevent as many as 79,000 illnesses and 30 deaths a year related to the consumption of tainted eggs.

Hinda Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Wright County Egg, said that the company had put the required federal measures in place by the July deadline. She said that before that date, the company had participated in a voluntary industry program that included steps similar to some of the new federal requirements.

Unfortunately, the validity of these claims has come into question because of the sketchy history of the company.

The New York Times revealed today that the company’s owner Jack DeCoster has apparently had several run-ins with regulators over poor or unsafe working conditions, environmental violations, the harassment of workers and the hiring of illegal immigrants.

One of DeCoster’s companies was fined $2 million by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) when inspectors found that workers were forced to handle manure and dead chickens with their bare hands and to live in trailers infested with rats.

The labor secretary at the time, Robert B. Reich, called DeCoster’s operation “an agricultural sweatshop.”

The list of other health and hiring violations is long for both the owner and the company that may be seeing their days of being able to do business coming to an abrupt end after the multi-agency investigation ends.

If you or someone you know has was severely sickened to the point of hospitalization by these Wright County Egg Company eggs, you may be entitled to compensation due to lost wages and pain and suffering. To achieve this you will need a skilled lawyer with experience in Product Liability Litigation. Call Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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