Eggs Recalled Again—Hard-boiled Ones This Time

Sounds like a post-Easter statistic, but it isn’t.  On February 1, more than one million hard-boiled eggs were recalled from 34 states because lab tests indicated that some may be contaminated with Listeria monocytegenes bacteria.  The business issuing the recall is Michael Foods, a Minnesota-based food company.  The states affected by this recall are listed toward the end of this article.

None of these eggs were sold directly to retailers or consumers.  However, they were purchased by food distributors and manufacturers who used some in products sold to retail grocery stores and food service outlets.  As a result, there have been additional recalls by these stores selling ready-made salads containing hard-boiled eggs from Michael Foods: Wegman’s Food Markets; GH Foods in Houston, Texas and Sacramento, California; Greencore USA in Cincinnati, Ohio; Allison’s Gourmet Kitchen in Moore, Oklahoma, and Bost Distributing Company (doing business as Harold Food Company) in Bear Creek, North Carolina.  Links to each of these recalls are at the end of this article.  The only Wegmans stores involved are those in the following locations: Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Canandaigua, Newark, Geneva, Corning, Elmira, Geneseo, and Hornell. 

CBS News reported that, according to a spokesperson for Michael Foods, “a repair project in a packaging room was the likely source of contamination.”

The FDA urges customers who believe they may have purchased products affected by this recall to contact the place of purchase.  Listeria can causes short-term symptoms (fever headache, diarrhea, muscle aches, confusion, and more) for healthy adults.   However, for others, listeriosis can be much more serious. Young children, the elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system can develop serious, sometimes fatal, infections from this condition. A pregnant woman who develops listeriosis may have a miscarriage or stillbirth. It can take as long as 2 months for the symptoms of the infection to appear. 

The Michael Foods recall is limited to hard-cooked eggs in brine in 10- and 25-pound pails.  These were produced at the company’s Wakefield, Nebraska facility and labeled under these six brand names: Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti’s, Silverbrook, and Wholesome Farms. 

The states included in the recall are the following: Alabama; Arkansas; Arizona; California; Colorado; Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Mississippi; Montana; North Carolina; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Jersey; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Washington; Wisconsin; and West Virginia.

For more information about the lot numbers involved in this recall, go the Michael Foods recall.

Here are the links to recalls by companies that purchased various products (Cobb salad, spinach salad, potato salad, sandwiches), etc.) containing Michael Foods eggs: 

usda.gov “Texas Firm Recalls Cobb Salads due to possible Listeria Contamination”

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_005_2012_Release/index.asp

usda.gov “Ohio Firm Recalls Salads Due to Possible Listeria Contamination”
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_004_2012_Release/index.asp

fda.gov “California Firm Recalls Prepared Sandwiches that Contain Hard-cooked Eggs Produced by Michael Foods”
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm290411.htm?source=govdelivery

fda.gov “Allison’s Gourmet Kitchen Recalls Prepared Salads that Contain Hard Cooked Eggs Due to Potential Health Risk”
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm290212.htm

fda.gov “Wegmans Recalls Various Prepared Foods That Contain Hard-Cooked Eggs Produced by Michael Foods”
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm290198.htm

usda.gov  "North Carolina Firm Recalls Chicken Recalls Chicken Salad Due to Possible Listeria Contamination"

shttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_007_2012_Release/index.asp

For details about these recalls, click on the links above. 

Source(s):

Cbsnews.com “Egg recall in 343 states over Listeria Concerns: Full details”

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57371380-10391704/egg-recall-in-34-states-over-listeria-concerns-full-details/

Also, go to the links in the article.