Nebraska DHHS warns of salmonella-contaminated eggs after two confirmed infections

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - You may want to check your refrigerators after the FDA and the Nebraska Department of Health warned shoppers of an egg recall due to salmonella contamination.

The egg company, August Egg Company, has recalled 1.7 million dozen brown eggs. The FDA reported 79 people across seven states, including Nebraska, have been infected by the salmonella bacteria in eggs. 21 of them had to be hospitalized.

While only two of the infected are from Nebraska, DHHS officials claim the low number should still be taken seriously.

“Any case of salmonella is out of the ordinary,” said Dr. Timothy Tesmer, the Chief Medical Officer at Nebraska DHHS. “Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with a mass processing of product at a company, there may be an unfortunate breakdown in the sanitation and storage process.”

Dr. Tesmer said symptoms of salmonella infection include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea. It can also cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly people, and people with weakened immune systems. He added that most people typically get over an infection within 4 to 7 days. More serious infections may cause hospitalization.

“If they happen to find any of those products inside their fridge, get rid of them, dispose them, if you’re inclined, return them to the store, but absolutely do not consume those eggs.”

While some food and safety experts say cooking contaminated eggs could kill salmonella bacteria, it isn’t worth the risk. Dr. Tesmer and the FDA recommended throwing them out or returning them for a refund.

The sell-by dates to look out for are March 4 through June 19.

They will also have these plant codes on your carton: P-6562 and CA-5330.

10/11 reached out to several breakfast cafés and bakeries in the capital city about the recall and to find out whether or not they were impacted. Some didn’t know there was a recall at all—others didn’t want to comment.

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