Federal food and health agencies are investigating a multistate outbreak of salmonella infections linked to eggs from a California producer that have sickened 79 people and hospitalized 21.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised on Friday that organic and cage-free brown eggs from the August Egg Company sold to retailers in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington and Wyoming should be discarded or returned to the store where they were purchased.

The agency identified eggs with sell-by dates from 4 March 2025 to 4 June 2025 that were distributed in California and Nevada to retail locations including Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Lucky, Smart & Final, Safeway, Raley’s, Food 4 Less and Ralphs.

The eggs were also distributed to Walmart locations in California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois with sell-by dates from 4 March 2025 to 19 June 2025.

The CDC estimates that salmonella causes about 1.35m infections in the US every year, and the recall comes as the price of eggs, and their safety, have become an economic and political issue for the Trump administration after an outbreak of avian flu in poultry stocks pushed prices up.

In March, the justice department launched an investigation into whether producers have conspired to increase prices or held back supply. The cost of a dozen large eggs hit almost $5 in January but have since fallen back.

The investigation was reported to be in its early stages, and may not lead to any formal action, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A Guardian report also found that concentration of the egg market could be contributing to the spread of the avian-borne virus.

“Bird flu does not fully explain the sticker shock consumers experience in the egg aisle … Corporate consolidation is a key culprit behind egg price spikes,” said Amanda Starbuck, lead author of the Food & Water Watch report The Economic Cost of Food Monopolies: The Rotten Egg Oligarchy.

But egg prices have since dropped, falling 12.7% in April, the biggest monthly decline since 1984, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Department of Agriculture reported in May that the cost of a dozen large white-shell eggs fell to $3.30 on average.

Last month, the US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, touted egg price declines as a signal of Donald Trump’s economic success.

“When the president was sworn in, the price of eggs had increased 237% under the last administration,” Rollins told CNN. She had said the Trump administration was importing millions of eggs from Turkey and South Korea to help drive down prices, according to the Hill.