Updated May 1 to include identification of the source as Gold Medal flour A Salmonella outbreak linked to Gold Medal flour has ended after causing 14 illnesses in 13 states. Three people were hospitalized, according to the final report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
General Mills, which makes Gold Medal flour, issued a recall. When this outbreak was first announced on March 30, the brand of flour linked to illnesses was unknown. On May 1, health officials announced that they were able to determine Gold Medal flour was the source of the illnesses.
.Public Health Actions
On April 28, 2023, General Mills voluntarily recalled 2-pound, 5-pound, and 10-pound bags of Gold Medal Bleached and Unbleached All-Purpose Flour with “Better if Used By” dates of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024. Two Product UPCs of Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose Flour in 5- and 10-pounds bags were affected, and two Product UPCs of Gold Medal Bleached All-Purpose Flour in 2- and 5-pound bags were affected. Although this outbreak investigation has ended, CDC advises you to throw away or return any bags of recalled flour and to wash any containers used to store recalled flour with warm water and soap.
Did you get a Salmonella infection from contaminated flour?
Salmonella Illnesses Linked to Raw Flour
Health officials are using whole genome sequencing to identify illnesses included in the outbreak. Using this method, they can view the national database of genetic “fingerprints” of the Salmonella strains that have caused illnesses and look for matches. Matching fingerprints indicate that patients were exposed to the same source of contamination.
The illnesses occurred between December 6, 2022, to May 2, 2023.
The patients range in age from 12 to 81 years, old. Three of them have been hospitalized. During interviews with health officials, eight of the patients said they ate raw dough or batter before they became ill. Six of them remembered the brand name of the flour. All six said they consumed Gold Medal flour before becoming ill. No other brand names were mentioned.
FDA Investigation
The FDA traced the contaminated flour back to a single production facility in Kansas City, Missouri. Tests on samples collected from the facility were positive for the outbreak strain.
Gold Medal Flour Salmonella Recall
On April 28, General Mills issued a Salmonella recall for Gold Medal flour after product sampling found Salmonella Infantis in a 5-lb bag. The recall includes bleached and unbleached flour sold in 2-lb, 5-lb, and 10-lb bags with “Better if Used By Dates of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024.
Previous Gold Medal Recalls, Outbreak
2019 Gold Medal Salmonella Recall
In 2019, General Mills issued a Salmonella recall of 5-lb bags of Gold Medal flour. The recall included all 5-lb bags of unbleached flour with the better-if-used-by date of April 20, 2020.
2019 Gold Medal E. coli Recall
Months after the 2019 Salmonella recall, General Mills issued an E. coli recall for Gold Medal after the company discovered the bacteria in a 5-lb bag of unbleached Gold Medal flour during routine testing.
2015- 2016 Gold Medal E. coli Outbreak
From December 2015 to September 2016, an E. coli O26 and E. coli O121 outbreak linked to recalled Gold Medal flour sickened 63 people in 24 states. Seventeen people were hospitalized, one person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening form of kidney failure associated with E. coli infections
Salmonella Lawyers with Experience
If you or a family member has been sickened by contaminated flour and you would like a free consultation with a Salmonella lawyer, please contact the Pritzker Hageman Salmonella Legal Team. Our attorneys have represented clients in every major Salmonella outbreak in the U.S. You can reach us by calling 1-888-377-8900, sending a text to 612-261-0856, or completing the form below. There is no obligation and we don’t get paid unless we win.
UPDATE: This post was originally published on May 1 and updated on June 7 to reflect the end of the outbreak.