100819_egg_recall.jpgWright County Egg in Galt, Iowa Thursday expanded its recall to include 380 million chicken eggs that could be contaminated with salmonella bacteria, in one of the largest such recalls in recent history.

It’s “one of the largest eggs recall in recent history,” said Food and Drug Administration Division (FDA) of Public Health and Biostatistics director Sherri McGarry.

FDA experts said in Thursday in a telephone press conference they were investigating the origins of a salmonella outbreak that has spiked to 1,953 cases between May and July of this year.

The ongoing salmonella outbreak from eggs may have sickened about 1,300 people from May to July, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. Health officials have reports of at least 1,953 cases from May through July 17, a period when there are normally only about 700 cases, says Christopher Braden of the CDC. Many more people have probably become sick with salmonella since then, he said, noting that local health officials first noticed spikes in salmonella as early as April.

The FDA said, however, that infected rodents many have spread salmonella in Wright chicken farms.

Recall information:

The Aug. 18 recall includes eggs with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942. They were sold under the brand names:

Albertson

Boomsma’s

Farm Fresh

Glenview

James Farms

Kemps

Lund

Mountain Dairy

Pacific Coast

Ralph’s

The Aug. 13 recall includes eggs with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413, and 1946. They were sold under the brand names:

Albertson

Boomsma’s

Dutch Farms

Farm Fresh

Hillandale

Kemps

Lucerne

Lund

Mountain Dairy

Ralph’s

Shoreland

Sunshine

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