Four Carlsbad stores sold eggs linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 23 Californians and sent seven to the hospital.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a consumer warning on Friday, Sept. 11, urging residents not to eat, serve or sell Happy Hens brand eggs. The Ramona-based farm voluntarily recalled its eggs on Sept. 8, but some recalled cartons carry sell-by dates as late as Sept. 24, meaning they may still be in local refrigerators.
The CDPH published a list of 41 San Diego County retail locations that received the eggs. The list, updated Sept. 11, may not be final. Four locations are in Carlsbad: Carlsbad Ranch Market at 6120 Paseo Del Norte Q1, Jimbo's Carlsbad at 1923 Calle Barcelona, Lofty Carlsbad at 2742 State St. and Lofty La Costa at 7740 El Camino Real Unit A.
What to look for
The recall covers Happy Hens in-shell organic eggs, all grades and sizes, under egg handler code CA-0677. Three lots are affected:
- Lot 223, sell by Sept. 10
- Lot 226, sell by Sept. 13
- Lot 237, sell by Sept. 24
The lot number and handler code appear on the egg carton. Consumer packs include one-dozen, 18-count, 20-count flats and 30-count flats.
As of the evening of Sept. 11, the Happy Hens farm website carried no recall notice and its online store was still taking egg orders, according to Marler Blog.
How investigators traced the outbreak
Illness onset dates ranged from June 21 through Aug. 16, according to CDPH, which described the outbreak as ongoing. In mid-August, the FDA collected environmental samples from the Happy Hens farm. Two samples from poultry housing tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis, and genetic sequencing matched the strain found in the people who fell ill, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
No deaths have been reported.
What residents should do
Bill Marler, a food safety attorney who represents seven people sickened in the outbreak, relayed CDPH guidance on Sept. 11: anyone with recalled eggs should "throw them away or take them back for a refund." He advised washing any surfaces the eggs touched with hot, soapy water or running them through the dishwasher.
Salmonella symptoms can include fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps, typically beginning six hours to six days after exposure. Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems face higher risk.
Marler also advised anyone who got sick after eating eggs to see a doctor, request a stool culture and keep the carton, receipt or a photograph of either.
None of the four named Carlsbad stores have publicly confirmed whether they have pulled the recalled eggs from shelves. The CDPH consumer complaint hotline for reporting recalled eggs still for sale is (800) 495-3232.
