07/27/2026
The Great Texas Egg Recall of 2026: Salmonella, Industrial Farming, and the Revolving Door
Nearly 100 people across 17 states have been sickened in a Salmonella outbreak definitively traced back to shell eggs produced by Midwest Poultry Services L.P., an Indiana-based conglomerate operating farms in Texas. The numbers tell a grim story:
98 confirmed cases spanning from coast to coast
26 hospitalizations ā thatās a hospitalization rate over 26%, far exceeding what youād expect for routine foodborne illness
17 states affected: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia
Illness onset stretching from November 21, 2025, through June 30, 2026 ā meaning this outbreak simmered for over seven months before the recall was finally initiated
The recall, issued on July 21, 2026, covers more than 1.5 million shell eggs ā both white and brown cage-free varieties ā produced between June 6 and July 3, with sell-by dates ranging from July 20 through August 17. The affected cartons bear identifying codes P-1950 or 0840962 with Julian dates between 157 and 184.
These eggs hit shelves at Kroger and Brookshire Grocery locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi ā though the FDA acknowledges the distribution could extend well beyond those borders.
Whatās notable here isnāt just the outbreak itself ā itās what it reveals about our food safety apparatus. The company itself did the testing, and found the pathogens.
This is the predictable result of a regulatory system where the FDA relies on voluntary compliance and company self-reporting.