FDA Upgrades Egg Recall to Highest Risk Level After 98 Sickened

The FDA escalated a recall of more than 1.5 million cartons of eggs to its most serious classification Wednesday. The move to Class I means there is a reasonable probability that exposure to the product will cause serious health consequences or death, the agency said.

As of a July 24 update, 98 people across 17 states have been sickened with salmonella. Twenty-six have been hospitalized. Texas accounts for the bulk of the cases – 73. The remaining infections are scattered across California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York and West Virginia, with each state reporting a handful of cases.

The recalled eggs were sold under several brand names: Kroger, Brookshire's, Country Morning, Simple Truth and Sunups, as well as various bulk Grade A and Grade AA eggs, according to the FDA. They were distributed to retail and food service customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi. Smaller retail outlets in other states may also have received them, the FDA cautioned.