General Mills recalls ten million pounds of flour in US

General Mills has voluntarily recalled ten million pounds of flour in the US and is collaborating with health officials to probe into a multi-state outbreak of E.coli O121.

The outbreak of E.coli could potentially be linked with the company’s Gold Medal flour, Wondra flour, and Signature Kitchens flour.

These products are being sold in Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme outlets.

The company also claimed that E.coli O121 has not been found in any General Mills flour products or in the flour manufacturing facility, and therefore, it has not been contacted directly by any consumer reporting confirmed illnesses related to these products.

Federal and state authorities have been investigating the cause of 38 occurrences of illnesses across 20 states between 21 December 2015, and 3 May 2016.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while probing the cause of the illness found that around 50% of the individuals reported preparing something with flour at some point before falling ill. Some consumers also reported using a General Mills brand of flour. Based on this information, the company issued a recall out of caution.

The strain is deadly and can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration, mostly in the elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems.