One recall now touches shelves at a long list of grocery chains. Grimmway Farms, a carrot producer based in Bakersfield, California, pulled bagged organic whole and baby carrots after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tied them to an E. coli outbreak that has killed one person.
The CDC said on Sunday that 39 people in 18 states had been infected and 15 hospitalized. Most of those who fell ill live in New York, Minnesota and Washington, followed by California and Oregon, though cases turned up across the country, the agency said. The strain is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
What was recalled
The carrots were sold under many labels: 365, Cal-Organic, Nature’s Promise, O-Organics, Trader Joe’s and Wegmans, among them, and ABC7 added Grimmway Farms, Sprouts, Good & Gather, Bunny Luv and Simple Truth to the list. Distribution reached the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Dates are the quickest way to check a bag. The recalled whole carrots were sold without a best-if-used-by date between August 14 and October 23, 2024. For baby carrots, the dates on the bag run from September 11 to November 12. The carrots are no longer in stores, but the CDC says shoppers should look in refrigerators and freezers and throw out anything that matches. Businesses should not use or serve the recalled product. Jeff Huckaby, Grimmway’s president and chief executive, stressed the company’s commitment to safety in a statement on its website.
Symptoms
Illness usually begins three to four days after the bacteria are swallowed. Severe stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea, often bloody, are typical. Most people recover within a week, the CDC said, but some develop life-threatening kidney complications. Young children, older people and those with weakened immune systems face the greatest risk, according to the FDA. Anyone with severe symptoms should see a doctor and say what they ate.
Not the first this year
The carrots follow several other outbreaks in recent months. In October, more than 100 McDonald’s customers fell ill from E. coli traced to slivered onions. In Britain, one person died in June in an outbreak linked to lettuce, and at least 275 people were sickened. Organic walnuts caused infections in 19 states in April. Experts told the Associated Press the food supply is generally safe, though there has not been much progress in curbing E. coli infections.
Sources
- One person dies, dozens sickened after eating carrots contaminated with E. coli (AP/PBS)
- 1 death reported in E. coli outbreak linked to carrots sold by Grimmway Farms (ABC7)
