Salmonella Matches Farm’s Hen Houses to Sick San Diegans — But No Recall Has Been Issued
Federal testing has confirmed that Salmonella found inside two hen houses at a Ramona, California egg farm genetically matches the strain that’s sickened at least 23 people in an outbreak first identified in July — but as of this week, no recall of the farm’s eggs has been issued, and the farm and county are now publicly disputing whether anyone actually asked for one.
What the Testing Found
San Diego County announced Friday, September 4, that the Food and Drug Administration had collected samples inside the hen houses at Eben-Haezer’s Happy Hens in Ramona, beginning August 17, according to the county’s official announcement. Investigators tested floors, perch rails, and nest boxes — areas where droppings accumulate — across seven hen houses, and Salmonella was found in two of them. Genetic testing linked that Salmonella directly to the strains found in ill San Diego County residents, according to the County News Center.
The California Department of Public Health shared those FDA results with Happy Hens’ owners and recommended the farm issue a voluntary egg recall, according to the county. As of September 4, the county said, the farm had not done so.
The Farm’s Response
Happy Hens co-owner Chloe Nevarez disputed the county’s characterization the following day. Speaking to the Times of San Diego, Nevarez said nobody had actually asked the farm for a recall. According to her account, officials from the county, the state, and the FDA called the farm Friday and asked what Happy Hens thought about a possible recall — but stopped short of formally requesting one.
Nevarez said the farm had already pulled eggs from the two implicated hen houses on its own, out of precaution, and that any eggs still being sold came from unaffected areas of the farm. “We haven’t used any of those eggs from those pastures out of precaution,” she said, according to the Times of San Diego. In a statement, Happy Hens confirmed the FDA and genetic testing findings but maintained that “as of Sept. 4, 2026, Happy Hens has not voluntarily issued the request to remove eggs from markets” — language that echoed the county’s own framing while still stopping short of announcing an actual recall.
The Scale of the Outbreak
The outbreak has grown steadily since it was first identified. According to the County News Center, the investigation — first reported July 28 — has expanded to 23 confirmed and suspected cases, including seven hospitalizations, up from 21 cases when last updated in mid-August. Illness onsets range from June 21 through a most recent case detected August 16, 2026, according to Marler Clark’s tracking of the outbreak.
The county disclosed for the first time Friday where the affected individuals live: La Mesa, Del Mar, Ramona, and Jamul in San Diego County, plus one case in Riverside County. Of the 23 cases, 18 were tied to raw-egg mayonnaise served at Ramona Family Naturals Market, while five people were sickened by Happy Hens eggs purchased and consumed directly, according to Marler Clark. Test results on the eggs themselves remained pending as of the most recent update.
The outbreak is unrelated to the separate, larger multistate Salmonella outbreak tied to Midwest Poultry Services eggs, which has sickened 134 people across 18 states, according to the county’s own statement distinguishing the two situations.
Why This Case Differs From a Similar One in December
Attorney Bill Marler, who represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit connected to the outbreak and writes about foodborne illness litigation on the Marler Blog, has pointed to a contrasting precedent from just months earlier. According to his reporting, when the same state agencies found a genetic match at Vega Farms, a Sacramento-area ranch, in December, the California Department of Public Health published its own public warning listing the handler code and Julian dates, and the firm recalled its eggs. In the Happy Hens case, Marler noted, there has been no such published warning, no formal recall, and no publicly released list of the retail stores that received the farm’s eggs.
Marler also raised a regulatory question about which federal rules apply to the farm. Under the FDA’s shell egg rule, 21 C.F.R. part 118, producers with 3,000 or more laying hens whose eggs aren’t all sent for treatment and who don’t sell everything directly to consumers are subject to specific requirements, including a written Salmonella Enteritidis prevention plan, environmental testing of each poultry house, and, when a sample tests positive, egg testing with diversion to pasteurization until clearance. Happy Hens has described itself, including in comments from its owner, as running roughly 14,000 birds supplying grocery accounts — a scale that would place it under those specific FDA requirements, according to Marler’s analysis, though whether the farm actually followed that protocol is a question for inspection records that haven’t been made public.
A Related, Separate Update on the Year’s Larger Outbreak
This case is unfolding alongside a notable development in a much larger, unrelated public health story. According to the Marler Blog’s most recent weekend coverage, the CDC has stopped providing weekly public updates on this year’s record-breaking Cyclospora outbreak — the largest foodborne outbreak of the year, which had reached 15,716 confirmed cases and nearly 12,000 more under investigation as of its last public tally. The blog did not specify a reason given by the CDC for discontinuing the weekly reporting cadence.
What Consumers Should Know
Salmonella infection typically causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever, and diarrhea that may contain blood or mucus, with symptoms usually beginning 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food and lasting four to seven days, according to the County News Center. Most people recover without treatment, though children under 5, adults 65 and older, and people who are immunocompromised face higher risk of complications.
The county has advised consumers to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and white are firm, avoid using cracked or dirty eggs, and practice careful hand and surface washing after handling raw eggs.
FAQ
Has Happy Hens recalled its eggs? No. As of the most recent reporting, no formal recall has been issued, despite genetic testing linking Salmonella in two of the farm’s hen houses to the outbreak strain.
Why do the farm and county disagree about what happened? The county says the state health department recommended a voluntary recall to the farm’s owners. The farm’s co-owner says officials only asked what the farm thought about a possible recall during a phone call, without formally requesting one.
How many people have gotten sick? 23 confirmed and suspected cases, including seven hospitalizations, with illness onsets from June 21 through August 16, 2026.
Is this connected to the larger multistate egg Salmonella outbreak covered earlier this year? No. This is a separate, unrelated outbreak from the Midwest Poultry Services egg recall, which affected 134 people across 18 states.
What should I do if I have Happy Hens eggs at home? Since no formal recall has been issued and test results on the eggs themselves remain pending, cook any eggs thoroughly and follow standard food safety practices; consult the county’s public health updates for the most current guidance.
Conclusion
This case illustrates a genuine gap in how foodborne illness response can play out even after investigators establish a clear genetic link between a farm and sick consumers — with the county and the farm now disputing not the underlying science, but whether the specific legal or procedural step of “requesting a recall” actually took place. With test results on the eggs themselves still pending and no public list yet available of which stores received the implicated product, consumers in the affected San Diego County communities are left with limited concrete guidance beyond standard egg-safety precautions until the dispute over what was or wasn’t formally requested gets resolved.
Sources: San Diego County News Center, Times of San Diego, Marler Blog/Marler Clark, NBC 7 San Diego, 10News San Diego (reporting dated July 28-September 6, 2026).