San Diego County announced on the afternoon of September 4, 2026 that Salmonella found inside the hen houses at Happy Hens, a poultry farm in Ramona, is genetically linked to the strain that has been making people sick across the county. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration collected samples in the barns. Two of the seven houses tested positive. The California Department of Public Health gave those results to the farm’s owners and recommended that the farm issue a voluntary egg recall. As of the County’s announcement, no recall had been issued. If you have Happy Hens eggs at home, do not eat them raw or undercooked.
What the County found
According to the County’s September 4 release, FDA went to the farm beginning on August 17 for what the County describes as a routine inspection unrelated to the outbreak. Investigators took samples from the floor and from the perch rails and nest boxes of the hen houses, where droppings collect, to find out whether the flock was infected. Salmonella was found in two of the seven houses tested, and genetic testing linked the Salmonella from the farm to the strains from ill San Diegans. Test results on eggs distributed by the farm are still pending.
Until now the sequencing on the public record tied the sick people to each other. It now ties them to the barns.
Twenty-three sick in five communities
The outbreak was first announced on July 28 with thirteen confirmed and probable cases and four hospitalizations. It grew to twenty-one on August 17. It now stands at twenty-three cases and seven hospitalizations. The County has published the geography for the first time: La Mesa, Del Mar, Ramona, Jamul, and one case in Riverside County.
These illnesses are not part of the multistate shell egg outbreak in the Midwest that sickened 134 people and led to a recall. That is a separate outbreak with a separate strain.
A recall was recommended. It has not happened.
CDPH recommended a voluntary recall. The farm had not issued one as of September 4. In the meantime, the County’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality says it has reached out to all retail food facilities so that Happy Hens eggs associated with the outbreak are not used or distributed to the public until it is safe to do so.
There is no published list of the stores, restaurants and delis that received these eggs. That means the burden of knowing whether the eggs in your refrigerator came from this farm falls on you, the carton, and whoever sold them to you.
What to do if you have Happy Hens eggs
- Do not eat them raw or lightly cooked. That includes homemade mayonnaise, aioli, Caesar dressing, hollandaise, raw cookie dough, protein shakes and runny or over-easy preparations.
- Cook eggs until both the yolk and the white are firm. Proper cooking is what kills Salmonella.
- Throw out cracked or dirty eggs. Do not wash a dirty egg — water can carry bacteria through the shell.
- Wash hands, utensils, prep surfaces and containers with hot soapy water after handling raw eggs.
- Keep eggs refrigerated at 45 °F or lower. USDA says only eggs graded AA, A or B may be sold for human consumption, and every carton must carry the required grade, size and “Keep Refrigerated” labeling.
If the eggs came from this farm, the safest choice is to discard them or return them to the seller.
Where the outbreak started: raw-egg mayonnaise at a Ramona deli
The first cluster was traced to house-made mayonnaise at Ramona Family Naturals Market, built on raw, unpasteurized eggs and used in the deli’s chicken salads and in its Ramona Red Sauce, which was spread on sandwiches and also sold by the bottle. On August 21 the County split the outbreak in two: eighteen illnesses tied to the deli’s mayonnaise, and five in people who got sick from the eggs themselves, with no connection to the store. Those five are the reason this was never only a restaurant problem.
Salmonella symptoms, and when to call a doctor
Salmonella infection usually begins 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food, the window the County is using here; CDC gives a wider range of 6 hours to 6 days. The common symptoms are diarrhea, which can be bloody, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. Most illnesses last four to seven days and resolve without treatment. Some do not. Seven people in this outbreak have been hospitalized.
Call a doctor for a high fever, bloody stools, vomiting that prevents you from keeping liquids down, signs of dehydration, or diarrhea that lasts more than three days. And ask for a stool culture. A confirmed laboratory result is what lets public health investigators connect your illness to an outbreak, and it is what makes a case count grow.
How to report an illness in San Diego County
Anyone who develops diarrhea, fever or abdominal cramps after eating undercooked eggs should seek medical care and report the illness to the County Department of Environmental Health and Quality at (858) 505-6814 or through the County’s online intake form.
Questions about this outbreak
Can an egg be contaminated inside the shell? Yes. Salmonella Enteritidis can infect a hen’s ovary and be deposited inside the egg before the shell forms. That is why washing the outside of an egg does not make it safe, and why a clean-looking, premium, pasture-raised egg carries the same risk if it is eaten raw.
Is this the same as the Midwest egg outbreak? No. Different strain, different producer, different outbreak. The San Diego cases are their own event.
If there is no recall, are the eggs off the shelves? Not automatically. A voluntary recall is a decision the company makes. What exists here instead is County outreach asking retail food facilities to hold the eggs. Until a recall is issued or a customer list is published, consumers are left to check cartons themselves.
More on this outbreak
Bill Marler’s full write-up of the September 4 announcement is here, and the first lawsuit filed in this outbreakis described here.
Salmonella
Salmonella sickens more than a million Americans every year and is the leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths among foodborne bacteria. Its reach is remarkable — it turns up in produce, poultry, shell eggs, pantry staples, and pet food alike. Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading firm representing victims of Salmonella outbreaks. Our Salmonella lawyers have represented thousands of victims in the only U.S. law practice devoted exclusively to foodborne illness, which has recovered more than $850 million for victims and families nationwide. We have tied Salmonella outbreaks to cantaloupe, tomatoes, ground turkey, salami, sprouts, cereal, peanut butter, shell eggs, and restaurant meals, and we have brought cases against Cargill, ConAgra, Peanut Corporation of America, Sheetz, Taco Bell, Subway, Wal-Mart, and Wright County Egg. The Peanut Corporation of America outbreak ended in federal criminal convictions, with the company’s owner sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison. We are also pressing the federal government to treat Salmonella as an adulterant on raw chicken, so that contaminated poultry can be kept off store shelves the way dangerous E. coli already is.
If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection — including lasting complications such as reactive arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) — after eating contaminated food, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation.
FAQ
What is Salmonella? Salmonella is a group of bacteria behind one of the most common — and most deadly — foodborne infections in the United States, sickening more than a million people a year. Symptoms usually begin between 6 hours and 6 days after eating contaminated food and include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps that last four to seven days.
What foods cause Salmonella outbreaks? Poultry, eggs, ground beef, produce, peanut butter, flour, and even pet food have all caused outbreaks. Salmonella can survive for months in dry, low-moisture foods.
Can a Salmonella infection cause long-term problems? Yes. Some victims develop reactive arthritis — joint pain and swelling that can persist for months — or irritable bowel syndrome after the initial illness resolves.
Who is most at risk? Young children, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems are the most likely to be hospitalized or to suffer severe, invasive infection.
Can I sue for a Salmonella infection? If your illness is linked to a contaminated product or a recognized outbreak, you may have a claim against those in the chain of distribution. A stool culture matching the outbreak strain is powerful evidence.
Additional Resources
- About Salmonella — a complete resource for victims of Salmonella outbreaks
- Marler Clark Salmonella Lawsuits and Litigation
- Downloadable Salmonella Fact Sheet