Hard Boiled: Congressional Committee Questions Egg Execs

Sept. 22, 2010— -- Carol Lobato, 77, said her salmonella poisoning "wiped me out to the point that I could not go to the bathroom by myself or function on my own."

Sarah Lewis, 30, said her salmonella infection kept her in and out of the hospital for more than a month. After eating a custard tart at her sister's graduation party, Lewis became so sick her doctors believed she would need emergency bowel surgery.

Both Lobato and Lewis shared their stories with members of the Subcommitee on Oversight and Investigation Wednesday as part of a hearing investigating the operation of two egg farms implicated in the salmonella outbreak that sickened nearly 1,600 people and led to a nationwide egg recall.

"To think that my sister and I got sick from a company that does not care about their regulations and quality is appalling to my family and me," Lewis said.

Lobato returned home from a dinner at an upscale restaurant in Morrison, Colo., last July with her husband and grandson when the waves of vomiting and explosive diarrhea took hold. Although she was released from the hospital a week later, Lobato said her illness persists.

"The salmonella infection is not over for me. I have lost my stamina," Lobato told members of the subcommitee. "I often experience indigestion, and it is difficult for me to enjoy certain foods."

Lewis said she also still feared that her body had not rid itself of the infection and that she could experience another bout of sickness.

"I wish I could say this could never happen again," she said.