MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills is recalling about 10 million pounds of flour after an E. coli outbreak associated with flour sickened 38 people in 20 states.
MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills is recalling about 10 million pounds of flour after an E. coli outbreak associated with flour sickened 38 people in 20 states.
The packaged food giant, based outside Minneapolis, on Tuesday announced the voluntary recall of some lots of its signature Gold Medal flour, along with flour sold under the Wondra and Signature Kitchens brands. Signature Kitchens is a store brand sold at several major U.S. grocery chains including Safeway, Albertson’s, Jewel, Vons and Acme.
The federal Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday there have been 10 hospitalizations associated with the outbreak, but no deaths have been reported.
The CDC has not yet released names of states affected by the recall, but the Minnesota Department of Health confirmed that three of the 38 people sickened lived in the Twin Cities area. All three — two adults and a child — have since recovered, and none were hospitalized, said Doug Schultz, a health department spokesman.
State and federal health authorities have been investigating an outbreak of E. coli O121 from Dec. 21 to May 3, General Mills said in a statement. The Minnesota health department said the Minnesota cases occured in January and March.
E. coli O121 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, very young children and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to such an illness.
The Centers for Disease Control found that about half of the 38 sickened people reported making homemade food with flour before becoming ill. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour. Some also might have consumed raw dough or batter.
General Mills said it has not found E. coli O121 in any of its products or at its flour facilities, nor has it received any illness reports directly from consumers. The flour involved in the recall was mostly produced at General Mills’ Kansas City plant.
The company said it made the recall out of an “abundance of caution.”
Liz Nordlie, president of General Mills’ baking division, said in a statement: “As a leading provider of flour for 150 years, we felt it was important to not only recall the product and replace it for consumers if there was any doubt, but also to take this opportunity to remind our consumers how to safely handle flour,”
Specific product recall information can be found at www.generalmills.com/flour