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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week warned distributors against selling hard-boiled eggs bought in bulk from a Georgia production plant that it said was the likely source of listeria contamination that had led to sicknesses in five states, including one death and four hospitalizations. Officials with the federal Food and Drug Administration discovered the strain during a routine inspection in February at Almark Foods in Gainesville, Ga. (Padilla, 12/19)

The peeled eggs were packaged in plastic pails by Almark Foods in Gainesville, Georgia, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which along with the US Food and Drug Administration is investigating. They were sold nationwide to food service operators, so consumers likely would find them in a store or a restaurant, the CDC said. Four of seven people who reported infections across five states have been hospitalized, and one death was reported in Texas, the CDC said. Those affected also were in Florida, Maine, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The cases date from April 2017 to November 12. (Wolfe and Ahmed, 12/20)

The CDC said consumers with a higher risk for Listeria infection, such as pregnant women and their newborns, adults ages 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, should not eat these eggs and should take precautions. "Until we learn more, CDC advises that people at higher risk for Listeria infection throw away any store-bought hard-boiled eggs or products containing hard-boiled eggs, such as egg salad," the CDC said. "If you have these products at home, don’t eat them. Throw them away, regardless of where you bought them or the use-by date." (Brookbank, 12/19)

The FDA typically holds off on posting recalls on its website until the companies involved have issued a public recall. Business-to-business recalls are often not announced by the FDA because the companies behind the recalls are not releasing the information to the public at large. (Gibson, 12/19)