Tainted Eggs Found As Far East As West Virginia
Early reports of eggs contaminated with salmonella focused on the Midwest and West Coast states like California, but recent news reports reveal that tainted eggs are being found in states farther east like West Virginia. The latest information on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website now says the salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands of people affects 22 states and Mexico, which is far more states than were earlier reported.
Recalled eggs connected to Hillandale Farms, one of the two Iowa farms involved in the salmonella outbreak, were discovered in grocery stores in at least four West Virginia towns by state health inspectors, The Charleston Gazette reports. The FDA had previously told West Virginia officials that “they didn’t believe that any recalled product had been shipped to West Virginia,” state Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglas said, noting how that earlier information was false.
This is my opinion, but, as the West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner’s remarks reveal, it now seems apparent that more information is coming out every day than was initially revealed, additional information about more tainted eggs being found in more states than key officials and the public were previously told about. Let’s hope the FDA isn’t relying too heavily on information being provided by Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg, the other Iowa farm involved in the salmonella outbreak and half billion egg recall. Who knows how many more tainted eggs will be found in additional states that the public hasn’t been told about yet? At this point, perhaps everyone should be on guard in every state.
The FDA has set up a searchable database with information on how to check egg cartons, http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/WhatsNewinFood/ucm223536.htm. Looking at this database, I’ve noticed there are definitely far more brands of eggs on the list now than there were only a few days ago. When the salmonella outbreak was first announced, the FDA only listed a handful of brands, but today there are well over 40 brands of eggs on the tainted list. Who knows how many more brands will be put on the list tomorrow?
Photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons.
