The Food and Drug Administration has raised a warning on recalled eggs sold at Costco stores to its highest risk level over possible salmonella exposure.
The FDA announced Nov. 27 that about 10,800 retail units of organic, pasture-raised, 24-count eggs, sold under Costco's Kirkland Signature brand were being recalled by New York-Handsome Brook Farms, NBC News reported Tuesday.
"The recall was initiated after the company determined that eggs not intended for retail distribution were instead packaged and distributed in retail packaging," Handsome Brook Farms said Nov. 27 in a news release. "Additional supply chain controls and retraining are being put in place to prevent recurrence."
But the FDA issued an updated notice Friday, marking it as a Class 1 recall, meaning the agency determined "reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," according to NBC News.
The targeted egg cartons were sold in 25 Costco stores in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee beginning Nov. 22, according to NBC News. The "Organic Pasture Raised" eggs have a Universal Product Code of 9661910680 with a use-by date of Jan 5. The FDA said customers should return them to Costco for a refund.
Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause people to experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can appear between six hours and six days of infection and will last for four to seven days. Infants, adults aged 65 and older, and people with a weakened immune system are the most likely to have severe infections.