Listera
A Minnesota company has recalled cooked eggs in California and 33 other states after a possible risk of listeria contamination. Flikr

A Minnesota company has recalled cooked eggs in California and 33 other states after a possible risk of listeria contamination, the Associated Press reported.

The recall is limited to hard-cooked eggs in brine 10 and 25 pound pails produced in Wakefield, according to Michael Foods. The eggs have been labeled under six brand names: Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti's, Silverbrook and Wholesome Farms. The packages bear the code 1 LOT 1350W through 1 LOT 2025W and have expiration dates ranging from 1/30/2012 to 3/10/2012.

The Food and Drug Administration has not received any reports of illness but an alert has been issued as Listeria is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness, especially among young children and the elderly.

Michael Foods claim none of the eggs were sold directly to retailers or consumers;however, food distributors and manufacturers who purchased the eggs could have used them in their own products. The company is working with retailers to remove the eggs from the market and has urged consumers who think they might have purchased the eggs, to contact the place of purchase.

Wegmans Food Markets have also recalled hard-cooked eggs, including prepared foods that might contain them. These include:

Eggs (special-order deli tray or 6-pack, 12 pack) Cobb Salad Garden Salad Baby Spinach Salad Chef Salad Egg Salad Egg Salad Sub Kosher Macaroni Salad Kosher Pickled Eggs

The recall only affects purchases that have been made in Wegmans' Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse Canandaigua, Newark, Geneva, Corning, Elmira, Geneseo and Hornell Stores.

Michel Foods has recalled eggs in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

The last outbreak of Listeria in the United States stemmed from Cantaloupe melons and claimed over 30 lives.Listeria is generally more deadly than illnesses like salmonella or e.coli. Twenty-one people died from listeria poisoning in 1998 traced to contaminated hot dogs and possibly deli meats. Another large listeria outbreak in 1985 killed 52 people and was linked to Mexican-style soft cheese.