The Listeria outbreak linked to salads and other foods containing Almark hard-boiled eggs has ended after sickening eight people in five states. One person is dead.
Since the CDC last updated the outbreak in December 2019, one more illness was reported from Maine. The total case count from each state is: Florida (1), Maine (2), Pennsylvania (1), South Carolina (2), and Texas (2). The fatality occurred in Texas.
A pregnant woman and her newborn who was sickened in utero are two of the patients sickened in this outbreak. While anyone can be sickened by food contaminated with Listeria, pregnant women are at elevated risk of contracting these infections which can trigger miscarriage, stillbirth and premature delivery of an infected newborn. Others at high risk include people with compromised immune systems, older adults and people with underlying health conditions.
Symptoms of a Listeria infection include fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle aches and balance issues. These symptoms usually develop within one to four weeks of consuming the contaminated food product but can take as long as 70 days to develop.
The people sickened in this outbreak, who range in age from less than 1 to 82 years old, reported onset of symptoms from April 10, 2017 to December 7, 2019. This outbreak was discovered when health investigators noticed that the genetic “fingerprint” of more recent cases matched others dating back to 2017, they realized there was an outbreak and compared food histories of patients. These interviews indicated that foods containing hard-boiled eggs were the source of the outbreak.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then traced back the supplier and identified Almark Foods in Gainesville, GA as the supplier of the eggs. On December 19, 2019, Almark recalled some eggs sold to foodservice customers. Four days later, Almark expanded the recall to include all eggs produced at the Gainesville facility and ceased production.
Contact an Experienced Listeria Lawyer
If you have been sickened in this outbreak and would like a free consultation with an experienced Listeria lawyer please contact Pritzker Hageman’s Listeria Team by calling 1(888) 377-8900 (toll-free), texting 612-261-0856 or by completing the form below. We will work to get maximum compensation and justice for you so you can focus on your health.