Beginning in January and ending in March, three outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections were detected. Eggs were the implicated contaminated vehicle of transmission. The eggs were sold by the same California distributor to three restaurants. The outbreaks occurred in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Clara. Egg-based dishes (egg salad, omelets, scrambled egg) were implicated at one restaurant; temperature holding violations were apparent. At another restaurant egg-based sauces such as hollandaise and bearnaise were implicated; temperature holding violations were apparent here as well. At the final restaurant, mayonnaise on the sandwiches was implicated; no temperature holding violations were stated. The United States Department of Agriculture attempted to trace the implicated eggs back to the farm of origin. The traceback was terminated because the eggs were purchased from a distributor who bought and mixed eggs from many suppliers.