Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa yesterday expanded its recall of eggs that are potentially tainted with Salmonella enteritidis. The recall now applies to 10 additional states, bringing the total number of states impacted to 18 nationwide. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health urges residents to double-check the eggs in their refrigerators to ensure that they do not have any of the affected product.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis or arthritis.

Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking news alerts delivered right to your inbox

To date, as many as 60 people in Los Angeles County have been confirmed to have the Salmonella strain associated with the recalled eggs. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention have reported that nearly 2,000 nationwide have been sickened.

The eggs affected by the expanded recall are packaged under the following brand names: Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942.

Eggs that were already recalled included those packaged under the following brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.

Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223.

Consumers who believe they may have purchased these shell eggs should not eat them but should return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund.