(Bloomberg) — The US Food and Drug Administration said more than 20 million eggs have been recalled after 21 people were hospitalized with salmonella.
The eggs, distributed by the August Egg Company, were sold to retailers including Walmart Inc. and Safeway Stores Inc. between February 3 and May 19. The sell-by dates ranged from March 4 to June 19, the FDA said with its full list of brands involved.
August Egg Company recalled the eggs on June 6 and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was opening an investigation into the outbreak.
Overall, 79 people across seven states got sick with a strain of salmonella linked to the eggs, according a statement from the CDC.
California has recorded 63 people sick with salmonella. Nevada and Washington have four people who are sick. Arizona, New Jersey, Nebraska and Kentucky have reported three people or less.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, the CDC says. The symptoms usually appear six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria. Most people will recover four to seven days later without treatment, according to the Atlanta-based agency.
The US experienced an egg shortage earlier this year due to an ongoing bird flu outbreak in poultry, sending egg prices soaring to record highs. Prices have cooled in recent weeks as the outbreak slowed.
The recall also comes as the US is seeing another salmonella outbreak linked to whole cucumbers that has sickened 45 people and hospitalized 16, according to the CDC.
The CDC says the true number of people who are sick across the two outbreaks is likely higher than reported as it takes three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
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