FDA Elevates Egg Recall to Highest Risk Category Amid Salmonella Outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised a recent egg recall to a Class I designation, the agency's highest health-risk level, after linking the product to 98 reported illnesses and 26 hospitalizations across 17 states. The affected cartons bear the codes P-1950 or 0840962 printed in date-coding ink on either side of the package.

The recall follows other food-safety actions this year, including a jalapeño recall and a July withdrawal of lettuce by a Mexican producer after a cyclospora outbreak. Jordan Jeske, a public health investigator with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, said seasonal factors and conditions at distribution centers may be contributing to the recent cluster of contamination events.

"We still haven't found the exact root cause of all these contamination events in the larger production scale, but from our end, there's a lot of seasonal bacteria and investigation that goes through here," Jeske said.

Lawmakers have noted recent reductions in federal funding for the CDC’s FoodNet program, which tracks foodborne disease, as a possible factor in the rise of reported cases. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported that its FoodNet grant fell from $669,000 in 2023 to $496,000 this year, leading to fewer case interviews.

The department is urging consumers who receive calls about suspected foodborne illness to respond, noting that interviews lasting 20 to 30 minutes help public-health agencies monitor and contain outbreaks. It also advises the public to check FDA and state health-department websites for recall updates, follow disposal or return instructions, and wash produce under cool running water.