US raises alert level on massive egg recall tied to salmonella outbreak

The US Food and Drug Administration on 12 August upgraded a recall covering nearly 1.6 million dozen white and brown cage-free eggs to Class I, its most serious designation, reserved for situations where exposure to a product could reasonably cause serious harm or death.

As of 24 July, the outbreak linked to these eggs had sickened at least 98 people in 17 states, with 26 hospitalized. Reported illnesses span from 21 November 2025 through 30 June 2026, and no deaths have been recorded.

The issue was identified by producer Midwest Poultry Services through routine environmental monitoring and root-cause analysis. The company stopped shipping fresh eggs from its Texas farms as of 22 July, but recalled eggs remain a concern because their best-by and sell-by dates run through 17 August.

The eggs were produced in Texas and distributed across the state as well as to food-service and retail outlets throughout the US south and south-west, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Affected products were sold at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana, Brookshire Grocery locations across several states, and other smaller retailers. Midwest Poultry Services has urged consumers not to eat the recalled eggs and to return them for a refund.

The reclassification comes amid a broader wave of food-safety concerns in the US. The country is currently facing one of its largest recorded foodborne illness outbreaks, with cyclosporiasis cases linked to lettuce topping 13,000. Separately, a salmonella outbreak tied to jalapeños has prompted a recall of Taylor Farms products in 26 states. On Monday, the FDA announced new rules on how manufacturers must notify the agency about food ingredients, though the change stops short of the sweeping regulatory overhaul the administration had promised.