An egg recall linked to a salmonella outbreak was upgraded to the highest possible risk level by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday.
Nearly 1.6 million dozen eggs were labeled “Class I,” which the agency defines as “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
Symptoms of salmonella infection include “fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain,” according to the FDA.
“Illness usually occurs within 12 to 72 hours after eating food that is contaminated with Salmonella, and the symptoms usually last four to seven days,” its website said, noting that children under 5, the elderly, and the immunocompromised were more likely to have severe reactions.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis had infected at least 98 people across 17 states. No deaths have been reported, but 26 people have been hospitalized.
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What to know about the salmonella egg recall and how to stay safe
The FDA’s upgraded risk classification comes three weeks after Midwest Poultry Services initiated a recall of the approximately 19 million affected eggs, according to a company announcement shared on the FDA website July 22.
The eggs were produced at farms in Texas between June 6 and July 3, and the cartons show sell-by or best-by dates between July 20, 2026, and Aug. 17, 2026. They were distributed to Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Samples collected at the farms tested positive for salmonella, and genetic sequencing found that some matched the strain responsible for the outbreak, according to the FDA.
However, in a July 24 update from the FDA, the agency said that Midwest Poultry Services “does not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak.” It did not identify any additional known origins.
“Additional investigation is ongoing to determine if there are other sources of illness,” it said.
TIME reached out to Midwest Poultry Services and the FDA for comment.
Consumers who may have purchased contaminated products have been advised by the FDA to either throw them away or return them for a refund at the place of purchase. The recalled eggs were sold under Country Morning, Cal-Maine Sunups, Brookshire’s, Simple Truth, and Kroger brand names. Potentially contaminated products can be identified by the codes P-1950 or 0840962 with a Julian date between 157 and 184.
The agency also said to “wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling raw eggs and raw egg-containing foods.”
Other salmonella and foodborne illness outbreaks in 2026
The reclassification of the recalled eggs comes as health officials continue to investigate a separate outbreak of salmonella linked to jalapeños.
The number of people infected by a jalapeño-related outbreak rose to 345 on Friday, with 36 hospitalizations across 27 states.
According to the CDC, several people who fell ill said they recently ate at either Chipotle or Qdoba. The restaurants have since stopped selling potentially contaminated products featuring jalapeños grown in Sinaloa, Mexico. “Given their actions to remove product from their stores, CDC and FDA do not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from these establishments to consumers in this outbreak,” the CDC wrote in a statement Friday.
The contamination also led to a recall on Aug. 9 by Taylor Farms—which had previously been connected to a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak traced to fresh lettuce. The outbreak resulted in more than 9,400 cases, nearly 400 hospitalizations, and two deaths.
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Taylor Farms sent products featuring jalapeños to over half of the states in the country, where they were sold by retailers including Kroger, Target, and Whole Foods.
In addition to the foodborne outbreaks, there have also been several salmonella outbreaks linked to live animals, including eight multistate outbreaks connected to backyard poultry and a smaller outbreak tied to children handling pet veiled chameleons. As of July 27, the backyard poultry outbreak was linked to 814 cases in 44 states.