Yesterday and earlier last week, there was a recall of shell eggs due to probable contamination with Salmonella.  This is one of the largest egg recalls ever, so it's time to take a hard look at your egg cartons to see where the eggs you may have recently purchased were produced!

About Salmonella enteritidis (SE), once this bacteria is introduced in the human body, it is difficult to get rid of successfully.  The young and the frail are the most vulnerable to its damage.  The bacteria multiplies in the intestines causing inflammation and sometimes bloody diarrhea. In infants, dehydration causing severe toxicosis is a major problem.  SE can be fatal.

So don't be shy about asking your grocery store managers, "Are these eggs among the ones which have been recalled?"  Your grocer or supermarket manager should have a list of stock/lot numbers of those eggs for you to view so you may compare with the lot/plant numbers of those egg cartons on the shelves. If not, you can check these websites:  www.foodsafety.gov  and www.eggsafety.org

According to the FDA, the eggs you should look out for are:

 "Eggs affected by the expanded recall distributed to food wholesalers, distribution centers and foodservice companies in California, Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Illinois, Utah, Nebraska, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. These companies distribute nationwide." and "...are packaged under the following brand names: Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223."  As well as the lot numbers, sometimes the supplier's company name and plant number will be on the egg carton. 

To date, the possibly contaminated eggs have come from a single egg-producing source company, Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa.  Generally speaking, food products from the heart of the Midwest, especially from Iowa, are usually good, clean, quality-controlled and safe to consume,  so, we need to ask exactly what is happening to our U.S. food sources vis à vis quality-control?  

What should you do to make sure your eggs are safe to consume?  If you have eggs in the above-numbered egg cartons at home, DO NOT cook or eat them, but take your grocery receipt (if you have it) and the shell eggs in the carton (as many as you may still have) to the store where you purchased them for a full refund.  Don't take a chance on cooking the eggs or using them in food preparation and getting salmonella!

About eggs in general, don't leave them out on the kitchen counter for prolonged lengths of time.  Cook them thoroughly when you do cook them.  If you use eggs in cakes, cookies and other food dishes, make sure you bake or cook those dishes as soon as possible after initial preparation and thoroughly as well.  Practice safe food handling always, separating raw foods from cooked ones, chilling and cooking eggs thoroughly and making sure cutting boards, measuring and cooking utensils are squeaky clean when you use them.