MOUNT VERNON — A large national recall of eggs issued last week due to a reported strain of salmonella poisoning has found its way to Knox County.
Steve Gilardi of Lanning’s Foods said he has had about a dozen calls from customers claiming they had purchased eggs contained in these lots of tainted eggs.
“We were in contact with Hillandale Farms as soon as the problem was discovered,” said Gilardi. “If you purchased any of these eggs from our store, you can bring them back for a refund or an exchange for other eggs.”
The recall centers around eggs distributed by Hillandale Farms and Wright County Eggs in Iowa. Over 1,000 people were reported to be sickened from the Hillandale eggs and over 2,000 falling ill from the Wright County eggs.
Eggs involved in the recall are labeled with batch numbers of P1860 with dates from 099 to 230; and P1663 with dates 137 to 230.
The eggs from Hillandale Farms were sold under the following brand names: Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek.
The eggs from Wright County Egg that have been recalled were sold under the following brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp.
Amy McCormick from the Kroger Co. said they do not receive eggs from Hillandale Farms or Wright County Eggs, nor does Dale’s Cardinal Market in Danville. Neff’s Cardinal Market and Fredericktown Market both receive eggs from Hillandale Farms, but none came from the plant reported in this case. No information was available from the Wal-Mart grocery at press time.
The Ohio Department of Health informed the Knox County Health Department as soon as the tainted eggs were discovered last week.
“Always be sure to cook eggs thoroughly,” said Nate Overholt from the Knox County Health Department. “Things to avoid are cake mixes, brownie mixes, as well as eggs in homemade ice cream, cookie dough or soft-boiled eggs.” Eggs which are contaminated could be consumed safely if hard boiled, hard cooked or hard scrambled, he said.
“Also be sure to always wash your hands after handling raw eggs,” added Overholt.
Updated information on egg recalls can be found by visiting www.agri.ohio.gov.
