The recall of eggs carrying salmonella has the attention of the nation right now because it’s big, and keeps getting bigger. As of last Wednesday, almost 400,000,000 salmonella-tainted eggs had been recalled by egg producer, Wright Country Egg of Galt, Iowa.

That was followed by a second producer, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, issuing a recall of another 170 million eggs.  Keeping count?  That’s getting close to 600,000,000 eggs that aren’t safe to eat.

Indiana is Part of the Salmonella Egg Recall

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reported that 17 states have seen spikes in the reported salmonella poisoning cases since May. Those states include Indiana, as well as Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The new recall by the second egg producer adds Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas to the list.

With Third Recall Illinois Now Involved, As Well

Recalls by their very nature are after-the-fact warnings. The current recall does not include any information from mid-July forward: it’s only after people get sick that they get tallied by the CDC.

Accordingly, it’s possible that these bad eggs have made their way into many more  restaurants or stores, and to the family fridge, in our area and victims of these Salmonella eggs haven’t been publicly acknowledged.

It’s also possible that the recall may be expanded once again to include additional states.

Why? The eggs carrying Salmonella Enteritidis have been distributed to wholesalers, distribution centers and food service companies across the country.

They’ve been packaged under the following names, according to the press releases issued by Hillandale and Wrignt Country Egg:

(Third Recall) Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek.

(Second Recall) Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast.

(First Recall) Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps.

Have You Been Poisoned by a Salmonella Egg?

If you or a loved one suffers any of the following symptoms, please seek medical attention immediately. Salmonella poisoning can be life-threatening.

Symptoms of Salmonella poisoning:

• fever
• abdominal cramps
• diarrhea (which can be severe enough to require hospitalization)
• appear 12 – 72 hours after injection of the tainted egg.

Bright and early this Monday morning, the news services are reporting a Washington Post story that a toxic poison commonly found in mothballs, 2-methylnaphthalene, may be the culprit behind the 28,000,000 boxes of Kellogg’s cereal recalled on June 25, 2010 (read the voluntary recall from Kellogg’s here).

This flies in the face of Kellogg’s recent press release, where the company blamed the cereal box liners for the strange smell that emanated from the recalled boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops, and Honey Smacks.

Kellogg’s already admits that eating the cereal may cause “temporary” nausea and diarrhea. If the Washington Post investigation is right, then ingesting the cereal means eating a known carcinogen – something known to cause cancer. That’s a big difference.

Do you have any of these cereals in your pantry?