Overview
- Happy Hens voluntarily recalled its in-shell eggs on Sept. 8 after investigators linked the product to a regional Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak.
- State health officials say 23 people fell ill and seven were hospitalized, with illness onset dates from mid-June to mid-August and the possibility that more cases will be identified.
- The FDA inspected the Ramona farm from Aug. 17–20, collected environmental swabs from hen house floors, perch rails and nest boxes, and found Salmonella in two poultry housing samples that genetic testing matched to patient strains.
- Recalled eggs were distributed to grocery stores, farmers markets, restaurants and sold directly from the farm across Southern California and the Central Coast, and investigators have linked illnesses to foods prepared with raw Happy Hens eggs.
- The California Department of Public Health has urged consumers and businesses to not eat, serve or sell the recalled eggs, to discard or return them, to see a doctor if symptomatic, and multi-agency teams will continue testing, tracing and case-finding while impacts to retailers and the farm are assessed.