This week, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a widespread recall of hard-boiled eggs in many supermarkets, including Trader Joe, Kroger, Walmart, Costco, and many others.
The announcement includes all hard-boiled eggs that are produced at the factory of Almark Foods in Georgia. Along with all protein kit, frozen diced, pouch pack, pillow pack, and retail products, they might be at risk of contamination with listeria.
The bacteria would develop at normal temperatures in the fridge and lead to a severe or even deadly infection. Several typical symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and high fever.
According to the latest report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 7 contaminated cases with listeria in 5 different states.
Among these, 4 patients must be hospitalized and 1 patient has died in Texas. In addition, a baby was infected, but survived, when its mother was in pregnancy. A listeria infection would lead to stillbirths and miscarriages in pregnant women.
“Evidence suggests that bulk hard-boiled eggs manufactured by Almark Foods can be a source of the current listeria outbreak,” announced the CDC in the report. These products were distributed to supermarkets around the United States.
In response to the decision, Almark Foods initially recalled the peeled and bulk hard-boiled in white plastic pails.
But due to increasing caution and concerns, the company has now voluntarily recalled more products for the retail market in Georgia. At the same time. All production in its factory has been temporarily ceased.
Some affected brands include ShopRite, Kroger, Kirkland Signature, Egglands Best, and others. The decision affects both organic and standard hard-boiled eggs.
Consumers can check this by looking at the code “best if used by” on the packages. If they start with the prefix “G”, the products were produced at the Georgia factory and should be included in the recall. This means you should throw away rather than consuming them.
Products with the “Y” or “N” code can still be consumed as they are not included in the recall.
The CDC suggests that those people with a higher risk for a listeria infection, such as the elderly, pregnant women, cancer patients, and people on dialysis, should get rid of any store-bought hard-boiled eggs or similar products, regardless of the purchased places.
This advice does not cover those eggs that are processed at home or other homemade products that are made with these ingredients.
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