Poultry firm recalls nearly 1.6 million dozen eggs over potential salmonella, US FDA says

(Corrects mln to million in headline)

July 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that Midwest Poultry Services is recalling nearly 1.6 million dozen white shell eggs and brown cage-free shell eggs produced in Texas, as they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. 

The recalled eggs were available at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana and Brookshire Grocery stores in states including Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi, the FDA said.

Midwest Poultry Services and Kroger did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment outside regular business hours, while Brookshire Grocery could not be immediately reached.

No illnesses reported were linked to the Midwest Poultry Services eggs as of the announcement, the FDA added.

Midwest Poultry Services has halted distributing eggs produced on its Texas farms, the health regulator added.

Salmonella enteritidis is a bacterium that can live on either the outside or inside of eggs and cause foodborne illness. Symptoms include cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, chills, fever, and possibly headache within 12 to 72 hours after eating.

(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Rashmi Aich)