CDC has posted a Food Safety Alert regarding a multi-state outbreak linked to organic carrots: https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/outbreaks/e-coli-O121.html
Key Points:
- Thirty-nine people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli have been reported from 18 states. Fifteen people have been hospitalized and one person has died.
- Interviews with sick people and traceback findings show that organic whole and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms are making people sick.
- Grimmway Farms recalled the implicated carrots. Multiple brands and sizes of bagged organic whole and baby carrots were recalled.
- These products are no longer for sale at stores but may still be people’s homes. Check your refrigerators and throw them away.
What You Should Do:
- Do not eat any recalled bagged organic carrots.
- If you have severe symptoms of E. coli infection, seek health care, and tell your provider about what you ate.
- Businesses should not use recalled bagged organic carrots.
E. coli Symptoms:
- Most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
- Symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria.
- Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
- Some people may develop serious kidney problems (hemolytic uremic syndrome, also called HUS) and would need to be hospitalized.
- For more information about E. coli, see: About Escherichia coli Infection.