E. Coli Fears Renewed As Ten Million Pounds Of Flour Recalled

A massive ten million pounds of flour have been recalled in the United States, and is the result of a long and ongoing investigation by the Centers for Disease Control to track down the source of an E. Coli outbreak that spanned 20 states. Mind you, there are no known E. coli cases resulting from the recalled flour. Rather, the flour is being recalled out of "an abundance of caution" due to reports from affected individuals that they'd recently baked some items before contracting the illness.

The flour is being recalled by General Mills, which announced its plans in a statement today. According to the company, General Mills is and has been working with officials in an investigation into the E. coli outbreak. The probe has been underway for about half a year now, and concerns the widespread series of illnesses resulting from E. coli O121. It is possible the outbreak is linked to some of General Mills' flour brands, including Signature Kitchen sold in some grocery stores, Wondra flour and the most commonly known Gold Medal flour.

Because of this possible link, General Mills has decided to enact a voluntary recall, though it says it has not been in direct contact with any consumer reporting that has definitively linked any illnesses to the GM products.

According to the CDC, about half of the 38 affected individuals had done some baking befor getting sick, with some of them having used General Mills' flour, and some of them having eaten raw batters or doughs made with the flours. While many avoid eating dough because of the (typically included) raw eggs, many don't realize that eating uncooked flour could also potentially cause illnesses.

Unfortunately, E. coli O121 is a particularly damaging train of E. coli, and could be fatal to those with compromised or insufficient immune systems, such as kids and the elderly. If you have any of the aforementioned flour brands and are concerned, hit up this link to see the affected SKUs (scroll to the bottom of the page).