FDA recalls millions of eggs, issues major warning amid outbreak

The Food and Government Administration (FDA) has upgraded the recall for millions of eggs to Class I, warning U.S. consumers that the eggs could cause “serious adverse health effects or death.”

The egg recall was first reported in September when the FDA announced that Milo’s Poultry Farms LLC, an Amish-owned farm in Bonduel, Wisconsin, was recalling all of its eggs from “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” as a result of an outbreak of salmonella bacteria.

On Monday, the FDA confirmed to Fox Business that the agency had upgraded its egg recall to Class I status. The FDA website describes Class I recalls as “situation(s) in which there is a reasonable probability that use of or exposure to an violative product will cause serious adverse health effects or death.”

According to the FDA website, the current recall affects 345,417 cartons of eggs, which amounts to more than four million eggs. The FDA warned that the recall was initiated because “the eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella.”

Fox Business reported that eggs from “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” were sold in restaurants and stores in states such as Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin during the summer months. The CDC previously reported that 65 individuals had become ill and 24 individuals had been hospitalized due to the salmonella outbreak; However, no deaths have been reported.

READ MORE: 65 sick, 24 in hospital due to bacteria outbreak

In a September press release, the FDA warned: “Healthy individuals infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can lead to the organism entering the bloodstream and causing more serious illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The FDA’s recall of Milo’s Poultry Farms and Tony’s Fresh Market eggs came after the agency discovered in September that the eggs tested positive for salmonella.

In the September press release, the FDA wrote: “The recall was initiated after the FDA notified the company that environmental samples tested positive for the bacteria. The FDA also conducted whole-genome sequencing and found that the samples were linked to an ongoing investigation into the Salmonella outbreak.

The FDA explained that the recall includes all egg cartons labeled “Milo’s Poultry Farms” and “Tony’s Fresh Market” and includes all expiration dates. U.S. consumers have been warned not to eat any of the recalled eggs but instead to throw away or return the eggs and clean any surfaces or objects that came into contact with the eggs.