The Egg Recall That Still Haunts Costco

In late 2024, Costco found itself facing one of the largest food recalls in its history, with 10,800 cartons of Kirkland Signature Organic Pasture-Raised Eggs being recalled (with each carton containing 24 eggs, that's in the realm of 260,000 eggs). The eggs were supplied by Handsome Brook Farms, a New York-based company that describes itself as the country's largest producer of organic "pasture raised" eggs — meaning eggs produced by chickens that are free to roam in larger spaces than "free range" eggs. 

The recall happened after tests suggested that the eggs were potentially contaminated with salmonella. The recalled eggs were sold across 25 stores in a few Southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The timing wasn't great, with the recall happening in late November, right in time for the holiday season when demand for eggs is considered to be higher, thanks to home cooks going on holiday baking sprees (and coincidentally at a time when egg prices had hit all-time highs).

Perhaps surprisingly for such a large recall, no illnesses were reported from the recalled eggs (this can be contrasted with a situation where Costco's frozen fruit infected hundreds of customers with Hepatitis A). However, this doesn't mean it was a false alarm. The FDA still classed the Kirkland eggs as the most serious type of recall, Class I, meaning there was a "reasonable probability" that consuming the eggs could cause serious illness or death.

As is standard with food recalls, customers were told not to consume the eggs and to return them to Costco for refunds. Costco's membership model likely helped get the word out faster, as the bulk store could directly notify members who purchased the eggs — Costco acted quickly, with the letter about the recall dated November 27, 2024, the very day of the recall. According to anecdotal reports from Costco customers on Reddit, the company seems to have multiple ways of sending such notifications, including emails, text messages, calls, and physical letters.

Although nobody was reported to be poisoned by these eggs, the caution is justified based on how serious salmonella can be — kids, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems can get seriously ill or even die. Healthy adults may still suffer fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and other symptoms, and while rare, if it gets into the bloodstream, it can cause serious infections or inflammations. Symptoms can take from six hours to six days to appear.

Salmonella can live both inside and outside eggs. On the outside, it's typically the result of bird droppings on the egg, although with eggs being washed before heading to stores, this isn't usually an issue. When it occurs inside eggs, salmonella infects the egg while still inside the hen. Fortunately, this is less common than it was in earlier decades, but eggs are still one of the products more likely to carry salmonella, alongside other animal products like dairy and meat.