Three years after being linked to an E. coli outbreak, Gold Medal flour is being recalled for potential E. coli contamination. General Mills issued the Gold Medal flour recall after E. coli O26 was discovered during a sampling process. The company said it had not received reports of illness at the time of the recall. However, consumers who have purchased the recalled product should not use it as E. coli can cause serious illness and death.
The recall includes 5-pound bags of Gold Medal unbleached flour with the UPC 016000 196100 and the “better if used by date” 06SEP2020KC. The recall also references a guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning consumers to refrain from eating uncooked products containing flour and to carefully wash hands and clean all surfaces and utensils that had contact with flour.
E.coli O26, the strain found in the recalled flour, is one of two strains that was linked to the 2016 Gold Medal Flour E. coli outbreak which sickened 63 people in 24 states. Seventeen people were hospitalized, one of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a form of kidney failure associated with E. coli infections that most often affects teenagers and young children.
Dozens of products sold under a variety of brand names were recalled in connection with that outbreak including flours and mixes for breads, brownies, meat and poultry, muffins, pancakes and biscuits. All of them were made the company’s facility in Kansas City, MO.
In January 2019, Gold Medal unbleached flour was recalled for potential Salmonella contamination.
If you developed an E. coli infection after cooking or baking with the recalled flour and would like to talk with an E. coli lawyer, contact our experienced team. Our toll-free number is 1 (888) 377-8900, send a text to 612-261-0856 or complete the form below and put our winning E. coli Team to work for you.