FDA Upgrades Egg Recall Risk to Highest Level Amid Salmonella Outbreak

That classification is reserved for situations in which there is reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 8/13/2026, 11:22:28 PM EDT

FDA Upgrades Egg Recall Risk to Highest Level Amid Salmonella Outbreak — Eggs in a file photo. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)

A recall of more than 19 million eggs tied to a multistate Salmonella outbreak has been elevated to the Food and Drug Administration's most serious classification, signaling the agency now considers the tainted products capable of causing severe illness or death.

The FDA designated the recall a Class I action on Aug. 12, 2026, according to an FDA enforcement report. That classification is reserved for situations in which there is reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Indiana-based Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. voluntarily pulled 1,589,577 dozen white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs from the market on July 22, 2026, after determining the products could carry Salmonella Enteritidis, according to the company's announcement published by the FDA. The eggs were produced on farms in Texas between June 6 and July 3, 2026, and carry sell-by or best-by dates ranging from July 20 to Aug. 17, 2026.

Affected cartons can be identified by codes P-1950 or 0840962 printed on the side, paired with a Julian date between 157 and 184. The eggs were sold in package sizes ranging from six to 60 eggs under brand names including Kroger, Simple Truth, Brookshire's, Cal-Maine Sunups and Country Morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Retailers that carried the recalled eggs include Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana, Brookshire Grocery stores across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and smaller foodservice and retail outlets throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Midwest Poultry Services identified the problem through routine environmental monitoring and a root-cause analysis at its two Texas farms. The firm turned over third-party lab results to the FDA on July 21, 2026, and launched the recall the following day. The company said it is not currently distributing fresh eggs produced at those Texas farms.

The recall is linked to a broader outbreak that has sickened 98 people across 17 states, as of the CDC’s latest update on July 24. Illness onset dates span from Nov. 21, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and 26 of those infected have been hospitalized, though no deaths have been reported. Of the 44 sick people with available information, 40—or 91 percent—reported eating eggs before falling sick.

Genetic testing performed by the company's third-party lab found that some Salmonella samples collected from the Texas farms matched the outbreak strain. Investigators cautioned that Midwest Poultry Services does not account for all illnesses in the outbreak, and the search for additional sources continues.

What Consumers Should Do

Federal health officials urged anyone with the recalled eggs to discard them or return them to the place of purchase for a refund, and to sanitize any surfaces or containers the eggs may have touched. Restaurants and retailers in the six affected states were told not to sell or serve the recalled products.

Salmonella symptoms typically appear 12 to 72 hours after exposure and include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps that usually last four to seven days. The CDC advised anyone with a fever above 102 degrees, bloody diarrhea, persistent vomiting or signs of dehydration to contact a health care provider immediately.

Consumers with questions were directed to call the company at 574-405-9531 during business hours.