The hard-boiled egg recall for listeria concerns has been expanded

A hard-boiled egg recall potentially linked to a national listeria outbreak has been expanded to include packaged hard-boiled eggs, potato salads, egg salads, salad kits and other products sold at several stores including Trader Joe’s, Costco, Kroger, Walmart and more.

The original Dec. 20 recall from Almark Foods covered bulk hard-boiled eggs in white plastic pails that originated from the company’s Gainesville, Georgia plant. Now, “out of an abundance of caution,” Almark Foods has expanded the recall to include hard-boiled egg products sold directly to consumers by more than 30 brands. Some of the brands include Eggland’s Best, Kirkland Signature, Simple Truth Organics and Great Day.

Listeria is a disease-causing bacteria that can survive and even grow at refrigerator temperatures and that can cause serious and fatal infections. Symptoms can last from days to weeks and may include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious symptoms include headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, according to the FDA. Listeria infections can be particularly dangerous for the elderly, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women.

Seven people in five states have become sickened in the suspected listeria outbreak after being affected by a strain that dates back to 2017; four people have been hospitalized and one person has died from it. States with cases include Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas. Lab evidence indicates that bulk hard-boiled eggs from Almark Foods are a likely source of the outbreak, according to federal officials.

Almark produces hard-boiled eggs at several facilities. You can identify if the eggs came from the Gainesville facility by looking at the “Best If Used By” code on the packaging of hard-boiled egg products, according to the recall. If the code starts with “G,” don’t eat or serve the product, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. The recalled products have “Best if Used By Dates” through March 2, 2020.

You can see a full list of recalled products on the FDA’s website. Additionally, companies that have received recalled eggs from Almark Foods have initiated their own recalls.

Those recalls include:

• Bakkavor Foods’ Trader Joe’s Egg Salad and Old Fashioned Potato Salad
• Multiple Diebergs Kitchen products from Diebergs Markets, including potato salads, egg salads, remoulades and to-go salads
• Reichel Foods’ Pro2Snax To The Max single-serve snack kits containing hard-boiled eggs
• Great American Deli’s egg salad sandwiches

Hard-boiled eggs are often a staple in restaurant salads. If you go out to eat, the CDC recommends asking the restaurant whether they’ve sourced hard-boiled eggs from Almark Foods’ Gainesville facility. If so, or if they don’t know where the eggs are from, the CDC recommends not ordering items that contain hard-boiled eggs.

If you have questions, you can call Almark Foods at (770) 536-4520. Be careful out there!