An egg recall has prompted warnings in five states about possible salmonella contamination.

According to a recall notice shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday, Handsome Brook Farms initiated the voluntary recall of their 24 units of organic, pasture-raised eggs sold under the Kirkland Signature brand name after the packaging of eggs containing were not intended for distribution.

The affected product was distributed to 25 Costco stores in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The recall concerns eggs packaged in a plastic carton with the Julian code 327 and a best before date of January 6, 2025. The UPC number 9661910680 is also on the packaging.

No other Handsome Brook Farms or Kirkland Signature products are affected by this recall, while the company said “additional monitoring and supply chain retraining” is underway “to prevent a recurrence of the issue.”

Shauna Grob, chief operating officer and finance officer at Handsome Brook Farms, emailed Newsweek regarding the recall, saying in part, “No illnesses have been reported at all. We have received a number of calls from consumers to confirm if the units they had in their possession were recallable, but those were the only interactions we have had with consumers to date since releasing the press release and notice to Costco- consumers.”

Customers in possession of the recalled product should not consume the eggs and instead return them to their local Costco store for a full refund.

Those with additional questions about the recall can call Handsome Brook Farms weekdays at 646-733-4532, extension 1, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, the release said.

Salmonella is the most common cause of food poisoning in the US. Eating contaminated food can cause an infection known as salmonellosis, which can strike six hours to six days after consumption, according to the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are vulnerable to potentially fatal infections, although most cases of salmonellosis are mild. Symptoms, which usually last four to seven days, include abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. Severe cases may include a range of other symptoms involving joints and the nervous system.

Eggs are often contaminated with salmonella because chickens and other poultry birds often carry the bacteria. Although the pathogen is most likely on the shell of eggs, the inside can also become contaminated, exposing people who eat raw or undercooked eggs to possible infection.

“Salmonella can get onto the shell of eggs,” a page on the FoodSafety.Gov website explains. “This can happen when birds lay the eggs and when eggs come into contact with bird droppings after they are laid. Touching eggs from the supermarket is not a major cause of illness because those eggs are washed before they reach the stores.”

“Salmonella can also get into eggs,” it continues. “This happens while the egg is forming inside the chicken before the egg forms a shell. Today, far fewer laying hens have this problem than in the 1980s and 1990s, so eggs are safer. But some eggs are still contaminated with Salmonella.”