Recalled Costco eggs may cause severe illness due to salmonella, FDA warns

Federal food regulators raised their alarm for recalled eggs sold from Costco stores over possible salmonella exposure, reclassifying the targeted product to its highest risk level.

The FDA announced Nov. 27 that New York-Handsome Brook Farms had voluntarily recalled about 10,800 retail units of 24-count organic, pasture-raised eggs sold under Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand.

In an updated notice Friday, the FDA reclassified the recall to Class I, which it calls a “reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”

Recall classification is routinely determined by a committee of FDA scientists who take multiple factors into account, including whether a product has caused any diseases or injuries, who may be at the greatest risk, such as children or pets, and the likelihood that more people could be harmed.

When the recall was announced last month, no illnesses had yet been reported. The FDA didn’t respond Thursday to questions about any possible illnesses linked to the recalled eggs.

The “Organic Pasture-Raised” egg cartons have a universal product code (UPC) of 9661910680 and a use-by date of Jan. 5, 2025.

The New York-based company Handsome Brook Farms didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can take several weeks for an illness to be identified as part of a food outbreak. Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover within a week, although the infection can be serious in young children, adults 65 and older or people with weakened immune systems.

The targeted egg cartons were sold in 25 Costco stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee beginning Nov. 22.

Customers with the eggs should return them to Costco for full refunds, the FDA said.

The CDC estimates that salmonella causes 1.35 million infections in the United States each year. Contaminated food is the source of most of the illnesses.