Hard Boiled Egg Alert

CDC is concerned that bulk, fresh hard-boiled eggs produced by Almark Foods of Gainesville, Georgia, are contaminated with Listeria and have made people sick. These products were packaged in plastic pails for use nationwide by food service operators. These products have not been recalled. However, because Listeria can cause severe infections, CDC is warning against selling, serving, or using these eggs to make other food products.

Retailers and food service operators should know who supplies their bulk hard-boiled eggs. Consumers will not be able to tell if products they’ve purchased from stores contain these eggs, so it is important that people at higher risk for Listeria infections follow the advice listed below.

Advice for retailers and food service operators:

  • Retailers and food service operators should not use bulk hard-boiled eggs produced at the Almark Foods Gainesville, Georgia facility, regardless of use-by date.
  • These eggs were peeled, hard-boiled, and packaged in plastic pails of various sizes.
  • Food processors and manufacturers should not use these eggs to make ready-to-eat foods, such as egg salad, deviled eggs, or salads.
  • These fresh hard-boiled eggs were packaged in plastic pails and have a 49-day shelf-life.
  • Wash and sanitize any surfaces that may have come in contact with the eggs or the pail packaging. Listeria can easily spread to other foods and surfaces.
  • Retailers and food service operators should be aware of the following:
  • This advice does not include Almark Foods hard-boiled eggs sold directly to consumersexternal icon, or any other brands of hard-boiled eggs or products made with hard-boiled eggs. The data collected to date has not indicated that these products are linked to illness.
  • This advice does not include eggs hard-boiled by retailers or restaurants.

Advice for people at higher risk for Listeria infection, such as pregnant women and their newborns, adults ages 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, such as people with cancer or on dialysis:

  • Until we learn more, CDC advises that people at higher risk for Listeria infection throw away any store-bought hard-boiled eggs or products containing hard-boiled eggs, such as egg salad.
  • If you have these products at home, don’t eat them. Throw them away, regardless of where you bought them or the use-by date.
  • Wash and sanitize drawers or shelves in refrigerators and freezers where the products were stored. Follow these five steps to clean your refrigerator.
  • This advice does not include eggs hard-boiled at home or homemade products made with those eggs, such as egg salad or deviled eggs.
  • If you buy products with hard-boiled eggs, or order or eat items with hard-boiled eggs at a restaurant:
  • Before you buy, order, or eat, confirm with the store or restaurant that they do not use hard-boiled eggs produced by Almark Foods.
  • If they use hard-boiled eggs produced by Almark Foods, don’t buy or order the product.
  • If they don’t know where their hard-boiled eggs are from, don’t buy or order the product.
  • People at higher risk for Listeria infection are much more likely than the general public to get sick after eating a food contaminated with this bacteria.
  • People on dialysis are 50 times more likely to get a Listeria infection.
  • People with cancer and pregnant women are 10 times more likely than other people to get a Listeria infection.
  • Adults 65 and older are four times more likely to get an infection.
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Submitted by Brewster, NY

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