Some registered dietitians recommend beating one whole egg into egg whites as a way to get the distinctive color and flavor of eggs, but to cut down on cholesterol. Whatever your healthy-egg hack is—whether you’re one of the nearly 100 million Americans the American Medical Association says are managing cholesterol or you’re just eating light and high-protein—restaurants and grocery shoppers need intel on a massive egg product recall that broke late Friday.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), three varieties of Egg Beaters, as well as one Bob Evans-brand product, have been recalled, totaling 212,268 pounds of liquid egg substitute. The reason, reveals the FSIS announcement: The product “may contain a cleaning solution with sodium hypochlorite.”

Expiration dates are active, meaning it’s possible product is still on shelves, and all reportedly bear the code G1804. Product details are as follows, from the FSIS site:

  • 32-oz. (2-lb.) carton containing “egg beaters ORIGINAL LIQUID EGG SUBSTITUTE” and USE BY AUG 10 2025
  • 32-oz. (2-lb.) carton containing “egg beaters CAGE-FREE ORIGINAL LIQUID EGG SUBSTITUTE” and USE BY AUG 09 2025
  • 32-oz. (2-lb.) carton containing “egg beaters CAGE-FREE ORIGINAL FROZEN EGG SUBSTITUTE” and “egg beaters NO ENJAULADAS ORIGINAL SUSTITUTO DE HUEVO CONGELADO” and USE BY MAR 07 2026
  • 32-oz. (2-lb.) carton containing “Bob Evans Better’n Eggs Made with Real Egg Whites” and USE BY AUG 10 2025

The recalling firm is Michigan-based Cargill Kitchen Solutions, which based on the FSIS report appears to supply to both supermarket accounts and restaurants. The FSIS says the Egg Beaters and Bob Evans products were shipped to distributors in Ohio and Texas, as well as “for foodservice use” (meaning restaurants and possibly other institutions that serve prepared food) in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Iowa. Further, the FSIS states, “There is a possibility that the products were distributed nationwide.”

History accounts suggest Egg Beaters first reached the market in 1972 as a response to high cholesterol trend that was developing in the U.S. Today, they’re one of the most prominent consumer egg substitute brands.

Sodium hypochlorite is “the active ingredient in chlorine bleach,” says Stanford University‘s website. It seems likely that surface cleaning solution within the food processing facility may have made its way into the product. If this sounds dangerous, the FSIS offers assurance: While they’re “concerned that some product may be in consumers’ or foodservice refrigerators or freezers,” they report: “After conducting an investigation and thorough assessment of the contents of the cleaning solution, FSIS scientists concluded that use of this product should not cause adverse health consequences, or the risk is negligible, resulting in a Class III recall.” A Class III categorization is the government’s lowest-risk designation.

They note that “FSIS does not expect any adverse health effects for Class III recalled products” and they’ve received no reports of illness, but they urge customers not to serve or consume these products.

Somewhat vaguely, the FSIS says they discovered the issue when they “received a tip” about the potential contamination.

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