FDA Elevates Egg Recall to Highest Risk Tier After Salmonella Infections Hospitalize Dozens Across 17 States

Eat Just Chief Executive Officer Josh Tetrick stated on “The Claman Countdown” that the enterprise is currently expanding “five times faster” than its pace last year.

A multi-state salmonella outbreak that has hospitalized 26 patients led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to raise a recall covering over 1.5 million dozen-egg cartons to its most severe alert level, weeks after the initial removal was announced.

The designation was elevated Wednesday to a Class I recall, a rating applied to “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”

Class I updates represent the FDA’s most urgent classification tier, instituted when contaminated food products pose immediate and significant medical hazards to consumers.

The risk upgrade follows an agency update on July 24 showing that nearly 98 individuals across 17 states have fallen ill, including 26 hospitalizations connected to the contamination.

Health authorities have reported no deaths associated with the outbreak.

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Cartons of eggs are displayed at a supermarket in Houston. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Federal regulators stated that the impacted shell eggs were sold under multiple brand labels—including Kroger, Brookshire’s, Country Morning, Simple Truth, and Sunups—in addition to various unbranded bulk Grade A and Grade AA lots.

According to the FDA, shipments went to retail suppliers and food service operators across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi, alongside independent retail locations.

Texas accounts for the overwhelming majority of documented illnesses, with 73 confirmed cases.

Single-digit or small clusters of cases were also documented by consumers in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, and West Virginia.

Salmonella bacteria typically spread through contaminated food products produced in agricultural or processing facilities, leading to symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and nausea that can require aggressive treatment in severe cases.

Recalled retail egg cartons for Country Morning Grade A Large 12-count, top, and Brookshire’s Jumbo 12 White Eggs. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Fox News)

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Agency officials cautioned that while distribution “has been confirmed for states listed, but product could have been distributed further, reaching additional states.”

The voluntary action was first launched during the final week of July by Midwest Poultry Services, encompassing 1,589,577 dozen cartons containing white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs.

A 12-count carton of Kroger Grade A Medium eggs subject to the Salmonella recall notice. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Fox News)

FDA investigators traced the affected shipments back to two agricultural production facilities located in Texas.

Regulatory officials noted that the bacterial contamination was identified through standard routine environmental testing procedures at the sites.

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The egg contamination safety alert overlaps with an ongoing, deadly outbreak of cyclosporiasis traced to contaminated lettuce that causes severe, explosive diarrhea.

Fox Business’ Bonny Chu contributed to this report.