Federal investigators have now linked human illness to an egg recall that was announced days earlier without any confirmed cases. The FDA's outbreak investigation page reports 98 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis across 17 states, with 26 hospitalizations and no deaths.
The agency stated that laboratory, epidemiological, and traceback data determined that shell eggs recalled by Midwest Poultry Services "are a likely source of illnesses in this outbreak." The company's own third-party testing at two Texas farms found Salmonella, and whole-genome sequencing showed some samples matched the strain making people sick.
Investigators also disclosed a caveat that matters for shoppers: the producer does not account for every illness, and the FDA is still working to determine whether another food is contributing.
Why This Matters
This is a kitchen-level question for households in six states where the eggs were distributed, and a symptom-awareness question for households in eleven more where people have already fallen ill.
Illnesses in this outbreak began as far back as November 2025 and continued through the end of June. Because Salmonella symptoms appear 12 to 72 hours after exposure and most people never get tested, the confirmed count almost certainly understates the real number. Anyone with recent unexplained diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps has a concrete reason to mention eggs to their clinician.
What We Know So Far
Midwest Poultry Services recalled approximately 1,589,577 dozen eggs, more than 19 million individual eggs, on July 22. The recall covers white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs produced and distributed from Texas farms between June 6 and July 3, with sell-by or best-by dates between July 20 and August 17.
The eggs were sold under five brand names: Country Morning, Cal-Maine Sunups, Brookshire's, Simple Truth and Kroger. Cartons in the recall carry the identifying code P-1950 or 0840962 with a Julian date between 157 and 184, printed in date-coding ink on the side of the carton rather than on the label.
Confirmed distribution covers Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The FDA cautions that the product may have traveled further.
Where the Risk Is Highest
Retail exposure is concentrated in Texas and the Gulf South. The eggs reached Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana and Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, plus smaller retail and foodservice outlets in those states along with Mississippi and New Mexico.
Confirmed illnesses, by contrast, span a much wider map: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia. That gap between six distribution states and 17 illness states is precisely why the FDA has kept the investigation open.
Bulk cartons sold to restaurants and foodservice customers are also covered, which means diners in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana may have been exposed without ever seeing a carton.
What Officials and the Company Say
The FDA advises consumers, restaurants and retailers to discard recalled eggs or return them for a refund, and to clean and sanitize any surface or container the eggs touched. Consumers who stored eggs outside the original carton and cannot identify them are advised to throw them away.
Midwest Poultry Services said it identified the problem through environmental monitoring and root cause analysis at its two Texas farms and that it "is not distributing fresh eggs produced on its Texas farms at this time." The company told ABC News it initiated the recall as a precautionary measure and was not aware of illnesses linked to its products at the time.
Brookshire Grocery told PEOPLE that on learning of the recall, it "immediately began reviewing our inventory and removing any potentially affected products" and is sourcing eggs from alternative suppliers.
Who Faces the Greatest Risk
The FDA identifies children under five, older adults and people with weakened immune systems as most likely to develop severe infection. That includes people on immunosuppressive therapy, cancer patients and organ transplant recipients.
Households that buy eggs in the largest formats, the 30, 36 and 60 count cartons that stretch a grocery budget, are also more likely to still have recalled product in the refrigerator, because those cartons take longer to finish.
Symptoms and Warning Signs to Watch For
Salmonella illness usually begins 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food and typically lasts four to seven days. The common symptoms are diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps.
Most people recover without specific treatment. Bloody diarrhea, a fever above 102 degrees, vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down, signs of dehydration, or diarrhea lasting more than three days are reasons to seek medical care promptly rather than waiting it out.
What You Can Do Now
Check the side of the carton, not the top, for the plant code and Julian date. If the code reads P-1950 or 0840962 with a Julian date from 157 to 184, do not eat, sell, or serve the eggs. Return them for a refund or discard them, then wash and sanitize shelves, drawers, bowls and utensils that touched them.
Anyone who ate eggs from an affected store or restaurant in recent weeks and developed gastrointestinal symptoms should contact a clinician and mention the exposure, which helps public health investigators close the gap between distribution and illness.
Cost and Access
Both the FDA and the company direct consumers to return recalled eggs for a refund, so no household should absorb the cost. People without insurance who need evaluation can contact a community health center or county health department, many of which handle acute gastrointestinal illness on a sliding-fee basis. Stool testing is what confirms a case and adds it to the national count, so it is worth asking about.
What Happens Next
The FDA has labeled the investigation status as ongoing and says the advisory will be updated as new information arrives. Two things could still change the picture: additional illnesses reported as testing catches up, and identification of a second contributing food source. MedicalDaily will monitor the FDA advisory and the CDC outbreak page for revisions.
The Bottom Line
The newest confirmed fact is that 98 people in 17 states have been infected and 26 hospitalized, with recalled Midwest Poultry eggs identified as a likely source. The households most affected are those in Texas and the Gulf South with recalled cartons still in the refrigerator. Checking the carton code is the single most useful step. The central uncertainty is what accounts for the illnesses the recalled eggs do not explain, and the next development will come from the FDA's continuing traceback.
Developing Story Timeline
July 24, 2026: FDA publishes an outbreak advisory linking 98 illnesses and 26 hospitalizations across 17 states to the recalled eggs, while noting the producer does not account for all cases.
July 22, 2026: Midwest Poultry Services recalls roughly 1.59 million dozen shell eggs produced at two Texas farms.
July 21, 2026: The company shares third-party whole-genome sequencing results with the FDA showing a strain match.
November 21, 2025: Earliest illness onset date in the outbreak.
