The FDA is weighing in on the end of Almark Foods eggs Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that has sickened eight people in 5 states, hospitalized five, and killed one person in Texas. This high hospitalization rate is fairly typical for a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak.
Almark Foods recalled hard boiled and peeled eggs in pails on December 20, 2019 and then expanded that recall on December 23, 2019 to include all hard boiled eggs produced at the company’s Gainesville, Georgia facility. At this time, the firm is no longer producing any products at that facility. The company also sold hard boiled eggs at the retail level. In fact, there were several secondary recalls of salads and other products after the initial recall.
The recalled products are now past their “Best by” date, the latest of which was March 2, 2020, and should be discarded. Any restaurants or retailers who did receive these recalled eggs should sanitize any surfaces that may have come into contact with them. Once Listeria is introduced into an environment, it can become established quickly because the bacteria is hardy. Freezing doesn’t kill it, and it can grow at refrigerator temperatures. It can also be resistant to cleansers.
You can contact attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker said, “It’s sad that people were seriously sickened and died because a ready-to-eat food was contaminated with this pathogen. Food producers must do a better job of monitoring their facilities for Listeria monocytogenes so these outbreaks stop happening.”
The last illness onset date in this Almark Foods eggs Listeria monocytogenes outbreak was December 7, 2019. Since listeriosis can have an incubation period of up to 70 days, and the eggs were recalled more than 70 days ago, we are hopefully well past the time when more illnesses would be reported.
Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogenic bacteria that is found in soil, water, decaying vegetation, and moist and cool environments. Symptoms of listeriosis include a fever, severe headache, vomiting, and diarrhea. Pregnant women are especially at risk for this pathogen since the illness can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and infection in the newborn. In fact, a mother was sickened in this outbreak and her baby was born infected, although thankfully survived.
