More than 20 million eggs have been pulled from store shelves across California and eight other states amid a salmonella outbreak linked to the August Egg Company, prompting urgent warnings from federal health authorities and potential price hikes in the U.S. egg market.
The recall, announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 6, involves over 1.7 million dozen eggs sold under various brand names-including some distributed by Walmart-between February and early May. Affected cartons carry the plant codes P-6562 or CA-5330, and Julian dates ranging from 032 to 126.
The FDA advised consumers not to assume their eggs are safe simply based on branding and urged those with affected cartons to either throw them away or return them for a refund.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the outbreak has infected at least 79 people and warned the actual number may be "much higher." The agency said the salmonella samples found at the August Egg Company matched those in human cases across multiple states, including California, Arizona, and Illinois.
August Egg Company stated in its recall notice: "When our processing plant identified this concern, we immediately began diverting all eggs from the plant to an egg-breaking facility, which pasteurizes the eggs and kills any pathogens." The company has since suspended the sale of fresh shell eggs and launched an internal review.
While the health risk is serious-symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and fever-economic consequences may follow. Mike Walden, an economist at North Carolina State University, told Newsweek, "Lower egg supply will increase egg prices," estimating a 25% price spike in affected regions.
Still, some analysts caution against overstating the impact. Joseph Balagtas, professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said the recall would put some upward pressure on prices. "But I expect the magnitude of the price effect to be small, perhaps imperceptible in the context of day-to-day fluctuations in prices."
Even so, egg prices remain elevated compared to a year ago. According to the latest Consumer Price Index data, egg prices fell 2.7% in May and 12.7% in April, but are still 41.5% higher than a year ago, following earlier shortages caused by avian flu.
