General Mills says it isn’t sure if the issue is isolated to its flour or is an issue across the flour industry. Eighty percent of ill people are female. The most recent illness reported began on June 25.
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The CDC reports that as of July 25, 2016, 46 people infected with the outbreak strains of STEC O121 (45 people) or STEC O26 (1 person) have been reported from 21 states.
The move comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed four new cases of e-coli linked to the flour. Thirteen ill people have been hospitalized. The flour tested was not included in the earlier General Mills recalls. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) showed that the STEC O26 isolated from the flour sample was closely related genetically to isolates from an ill person.
On July 25, 2016, General Mills further expanded its flour recall to include additional lots.
General Mills initially announced a recall of 10 million pounds of flour in June, which it said at the time was “out of an abundance of caution” because it was possibly linked to the outbreak. The illnesses reported to health officials continue to be connected with consumers reporting that they ate or handled uncooked dough or ate uncooked batter made with raw flour, General Mills said, adding that no illnesses have been connected with flour that has been properly baked, cooked or handled.
Consumers can check if their flour is under recall based using codes listed on their packages at www.generalmills.com/flour or calling 1-800-230-8103. Flour or other ingredients used to make raw dough or batter can be contaminated with STEC and other pathogens.
The CDC says the illness were caused entirely by ingesting raw, unbaked dough. Do not taste raw dough or batter.
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This investigation is ongoing.
