INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Massive Baking Flour E. Coli Recall: 10 Million Pounds Of Flour Recalled By General Mills

By Tara West
Published on: 08:40 PST, Jun 2, 2016

General Mills has recalled 10 million pounds of baking flour following concerns of E. coli contamination. The flour was sold as far back as December of 2015, and is likely sitting on the pantry shelves of millions of consumers. The flour products were sold at numerous grocery stores including Safeway, Albertsons, and Vons. The flour has been linked to the sickening of 38 people in 20 different states.

CNN reports that a massive flour recall is underway after some popular General Mills flour products were linked to a number of E. coli cases across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say they are investigating an outbreak of E. coli 0121 across 20 different states that has left 38 people sick and 10 hospitalized. The outbreak has been linked to a variety of flour products packaged by General Mills, which sparked the massive recall.

The recall came as over half of all of the individuals sickened by the E. coli reported they had made something from scratch with flour leading up to their illness. All of the E. coli cases were reported between December 21, 2015, and May 3, 2016. In response to the concerns that the flour products may have contributed to the illness, General Mills has decided to perform a voluntary recall of over 10 million pounds of flour product.

General Mills released a statement regarding the recall, noting that the recall is being performed as a means to ensure complete product safety as well as to use educate the public on the health concerns associated with eating raw dough products. The company notes that raw dough products and flour should never be eaten raw, and should always be cooked.

The company notes that some of the individuals that fell ill with E. coli had reported that they ate raw dough prior to the sickness. Therefore, General Mills says they are taking this opportunity to re-educate the public on the health risks of raw dough.

“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.”

The recall includes Gold Medal brand flour, Signature Kitchens flour, and Gold Medal Wondra flour. The SKUs for the recalled products are listed below.

  • 13.5 ounce Gold Medal Wondra with package UPC 000-16000-18980. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017.
  • 2 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour with package UPC O00-16000-10710. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017KC.
  • 5 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour with package UPC 000-16000-10610. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC
  • 10 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour with package UPC 000-16000-10410. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 02JUN2017KC,03JUN2017KC.
  • 10 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour (banded pack) with package UPC 000-16000-10410. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KC.
  • 5 pound Gold Medal Unbleached Flour with package UPC 000-16000-19610. The “Better if Used by Dates” are 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC.
  • 5 pound Signature Kitchens All Purpose Flour Enriched Bleached with package UPC 000-21130-53001. The “Better if Used by Date” is BB MAY 28 2017.
  • 5 pound Signature Kitchens Unbleached Flour All Purpose Enriched with package UPC 000-21130-53022. The “Better if Used by Date” is BB MAY 27 2017.
  • 2 pound Gold Medal Self Rising Flour with package UPC 000-16000-1171. The “Better if Used by Date” is 23AUG2016KC.

If you have any of the recalled products in your pantry, General Mills says that the products should not be used and can be returned to stores for an exchange.

[Image via Shutterstock]

Share this article: Massive Baking Flour E. Coli Recall: 10 Million Pounds Of Flour Recalled By General Mills
More from Inquisitr