As of Friday, a salmonella outbreak linked to a California egg producer had sickened at least 79 people. Of the infected people, 21 hospitalizations were reported, U.S. health officials said .

Organic and cage-free brown eggs from August Egg Company with specific sell-by dates distributed across nine states and retail locations should be thrown away or returned to where they were purchased, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said .

The CDC report acknowledged that the number of sick people in the outbreak was likely much higher than the number reported, because most people with salmonella recover without seeking medical care or getting tested for the bacterial infection.

August Egg Company voluntarily recalled 1.7 million dozen eggs that may be contaminated with salmonel

See Full Page