More than 1,000 people have already been affected by the outbreak, and there are fears that more will be struck down in coming weeks.
Hillandale Farms is the second Iowa farm to recall its eggs – more than 170 million of them – in the space of a week after scientists confirmed the presence of salmonella. Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs earlier this week.
Both farms’ eggs were found to be tainted with the same strain, salmonella enteridis, and the US Food and Drug Administration confirmed the recalls are related.
The recalled Hillandale eggs were sold between April and August and distributed under the brand names Hillandale Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms, West Creek and Sunny Farms.
They were distributed to 14 states, including Arkansas, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
The cause of the outbreaks is not yet known, but tainted feed or shipments of contaminated hens may be responsible.
Health officials have recommended that recalled eggs are thrown away or returned to the store from which they were bought.