The federal government’s investigation into a recall of Salmonella-contaminated brown cage-free and certified-organic eggs has ended, the Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday.
The expiration dates had passed on the recalled eggs, which mostly were distributed in California and mostly affected buyers there, according to the FDA.
Officials with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with state and local officials to investigate salmonella poisoning cases throughout 10 states and involving brown eggs that were supplied by the August Egg Co. of Hilmar, Calif.
The eggs caused 134 Salmonella infections across 10 states, with 109 reported in California. Arizona, Nevada and Washington state each had between four and eight cases.
Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Kentucky and New Jersey each had between one and three cases related to the contaminated eggs.
The contamination caused one death and 38 hospitalizations, and the last illness was reported on June 6.
The recalled eggs were packed in fiber or plastic cartons that had Julian dates of 32 and 126 and a plant code number of P-6562 or CA-5330 printed on them.
They were sold in packages of six, 12 or 18 eggs in most stores. They also were available in flats containing 20 or 30 eggs or a case holding 150.
The FDA tested environmental samples from the cage-free laying houses used by August Egg.
Three of the samples tested positive for Salmonella and matched the strain that caused the illnesses.
All recalled eggs should have been removed from store shelves, and the FDA is working with August Egg officials to prevent future occurrences.
