Retailers affected by national egg recall

Millions of recalled eggs have consumers nationwide concerned about salmonella poisoning -- by Friday, more than half a billion eggs were recalled in the outbreak that now includes a second Iowa farm.

In addition to the 380 million eggs recalled by Wright County Eggs, Hillandale Farms recalled 170 million, the Associated Press reported.

But Detroit Lakes grocery store Central Market is reassuring customers that its eggs are safe.

"We have signs up stating where our eggs come from and they're not in the recall," said Central Market General Manager Dan Neumeister.

However, Walmart Corp. released a statement Monday announcing that management was required to remove recalled eggs off the shelves and is encouraging customers to return suspicious eggs.

"As soon as we have been notified, we have promptly pulled the eggs from our stores' shelves," the statement said. "These recalls have affected nearly 630 Walmart stores in 20 states."

Walmart officials say some of the eggs produced by Dean Foods, Hillandale Farms and Cal-Maine Foods have been linked to Wright County Eggs, and therefore are affected by the recall, but the Great Value brand is not impacted.

Customers, however, are still concerned about the massive recall and are shying away from purchasing eggs.

Central Market's egg sales dropped a small percentage over the weekend, Neumeister said, adding, "people are very cautious."

Eggs sold at Central Market come from the Litchfield, Minn. based company Sparboe Farms, which has not been affected by the recall.

Ken Klippen, executive director of government relation for Sparboe, said before the federal law that instituted an egg safety rule went into effect on July 9, the company was already testing its eggs for the past 10 years.

The rule indicates a few steps egg producers must implement, including testing the environment for the presence of salmonella and disinfecting the poultry house in case it tests positive for salmonella.

Klippen said customers should check egg cartons for company and brand name information:

"If they see it packed by Sparboe Farms on the side of the carton, then they have the assurance that not only are we following the current law, we have been doing it for more than a decade," Klippen added.

In general, there are steps consumers can take to protect themselves in the kitchen, said Becker County Community Health Supervisor Ronda Stock. For example, bacteria can be found on the shells as well so it's important to properly discard them.

She advises consumers to thoroughly cook eggs and avoid protein drinks and salad dressing or sauces that call for raw eggs.

"For someone with a weakened immune system they might suffer from dehydration and things like that, so it bears watching," she said.

Salmonella infection typically kicks in within 12 to 72 hours of consumption, she added, and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and high fever.

For more information on the egg recall or to check if the eggs you just purchased are safe, visit the Food and Drug Administration's website at www.fda.gov .