text: UPDATE 9:43 p.m. EDT: The Food and Drug Administration posted the General Mills recall notice Tuesday evening. It includes product photos for easy location of label codes that identify the recalled products. 
   
   General Mills Inc. has initiated a nationwide recall of three brands of flour, totaling about 10 million pounds, in response to a 20-state E. coli outbreak that has sickened 38 people. 
   
   Although government officials have reportedly been investigating the outbreak, no state or federal agencies had released any information about it at the point Tuesday when the Minneapolis-based company announced the recall. 
   
   “State and federal authorities have been researching 38 occurrences of illnesses across 20 states related to a specific type of E. coli O121, between Dec.21, 2015, and May 3, 2016,” according to a news release from General Mills. 
   
   “While attempting to track the cause of the illness, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) found that approximately half of the individuals reported making something homemade with flour at some point prior to becoming ill. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour.” 
   
   The recall includes six SKUs (stock keeping units or UPC codes) of Gold Medal branded flour, two SKU’s of Signature Kitchens branded flour and one SKU of Gold Medal Wondra branded flour. 
   
   Retailers that received shipments of the recalled flour include Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme. 
   
   “To date, E. coli O121 has not been found in any General Mills flour products or in the flour manufacturing facility, and the company has not been contacted directly by any consumer reporting confirmed illnesses related to these products,” according to the news release. 
   
   “As a leading provider of flour for 150 years, we felt it was important to not only recall the product and replace it for consumers if there was any doubt, but also to take this opportunity to remind our consumers how to safely handle flour,” Liz Nordlie, president of General Mills Baking division, said in the release. 
   
   Some of the outbreak victims may have eaten raw dough or batter. Nordlie said in the news release and a separate blog posting that no one, especially young children, should ever eat raw dough or batter because of potential pathogens. 
   
   “Consumers are reminded to not consume any raw products made with flour. Flour is an ingredient that comes from milling wheat, something grown outdoors that carries with it risks of bacteria which are rendered harmless by baking, frying or boiling,” according to the news release. 
   
   “Consumers are reminded to wash their hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with raw dough products or flour, and to never eat raw dough or batter.” 
   
   The recalled flour can be identified by the following label information: 
   
   13.5-ounce Gold Medal Wondra — Package UPC 000-16000-18980; Better if Used by Dates 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017 
   
   2-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour — Package UPC 000-16000-10710; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017K 
   
   5-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour — Package UPC 000-16000-10610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC 
   
   10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour — Package UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 02JUN2017KC,03JUN2017KC 
   
   10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Banded Pack — Package UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KC 
   
   5-pound Gold Medal Unbleached Flour — Package UPC 000-16000-19610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC 
   
   5-pound Signature Kitchens All Purpose Flour Enriched Bleached — Package UPC 000-21130-53001; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 28 2017 
   
   5-pound Signature Kitchens Unbleached Flour All Purpose Enriched —Package UPC 000-21130-53022; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 27 2017 
   
   2-pound Gold Medal Self Rising Flour — Package UPC 000-16000-11710; Better if Used by Dates 23AUG2016KC 
   
   General Mills has a web page and hotline for consumers: 800-230-8103. 
   
   E. coli O121 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, the very young, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness. 
   
   “Any consumers concerned about an illness should contact a physician. Anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli O121 is also urged to contact state and local public health authorities,” according to the General Mills news release. 
   
   (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.) 
   
   © Food Safety News ||||| General Mills, owner of the venerable Gold Medal brand, has recalled over 10 million pounds of flour after 38 people in 20 states got sick from a potentially deadly strain of E. coli that may have originated in the company’s products. 
   
   The Golden Valley-based packaged food giant Tuesday announced the voluntary recall of some lots of Gold Medal — the nation’s bestselling retail flour — as well as flour sold under the Wondra and Signature Kitchens brands. Signature Kitchens is a store brand sold at several major U.S. grocery chains including Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Vons and Acme. 
   
   The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday there have been 10 hospitalizations associated with an outbreak linked to flour. No deaths have been reported. 
   
   The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed that three of the 38 victims lived in the Twin Cities area. All three — two adults and a child — have recovered, and none was hospitalized, said spokesman Doug Schultz. 
   
   The flour flap is the second significant recall for General Mills in less than a year. 
   
   The company in October recalled 1.8 million boxes of gluten-free Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios after discovering the cereal inadvertently contained gluten, a wheat protein that’s an allergen to some. In that case, oat flour was offloaded from a train car into a truck that had previously hauled wheat but had not been properly cleaned. The truck was owned by an independent contractor. 
   
   Flour recall The recall: Over 10 million pounds of General Mills flour The reason: Possible contamination with E. Coli O121 bacteria Brands recalled: Gold Medal, Wondra and Signature Kitchens, a private label at several grocery chains. To see if your flour is recalled, go to: generalmills.com/flour. 
   
   E. coli O121 — a less common strain of the E. coli bacteria — can cause bloody diarrhea, cramps and dehydration. Seniors, very young children and people with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to such an illness. 
   
   State and federal health authorities have been investigating a flour-related outbreak of E. coli O121 from Dec. 21 to May 3, General Mills said in a statement. The Minnesota health department said the cases here occurred in January and March. The CDC has not released information on other states involved in the outbreak. 
   
   “It must have been substantial contamination for the outbreak to basically go nationwide,” said Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in food safety and suing food companies. 
   
   Marler noted that Mills made its recall even though the CDC has yet to detail the outbreak on its website. “I think what General Mills has done here is that they are getting ahead of an obvious problem, which is a positive thing.” 
   
   The CDC found that about half of the 38 sickened people reported making homemade food with flour before becoming ill, according to General Mills. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour, and some also might have consumed raw dough or batter. 
   
   General Mills said it has not found E. coli O121 in any of its products or at its flour facilities, nor has it received any illness reports directly from consumers. The flour involved in the recall was mostly produced at General Mills’ plant in Kansas City, Mo. 
   
   E. coli outbreaks are most common in meat and produce, and they are ultimately traced back to bacteria in the guts of animals. 
   
   “E. coli is typically an indicator of fecal contamination,” said Mike Doyle, director of the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety. Vegetables and fruit are often contaminated with E. coli, as well as salmonella, through tainted water. The same could happen to wheat — grist for flour — even though it’s processed. 
   
   E. coli outbreaks from flour-related products aren’t common, but a handful have occurred in recent years. The most well-known was a 2009 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 linked to Nestlé’s Toll House cookie dough. It sickened over 70 people in 30 states, including six in Minnesota. Nestlé issued a big recall due to the outbreak. 
   
   The CDC reported that many victims ate raw Toll House cookie dough, a practice frowned upon by food safety experts. 
   
   Just as cooking meat properly kills E. coli bacteria, fully cooked baked goods should pose less of a threat. 
   
   Also, General Mills says that in order to kill bacteria such as E. coli, it heat-treats flour used in its Pillsbury refrigerated dough products. However, raw flour sold as an ingredient for baking is not heat-treated, because the process “would impact its performance such as rising properties,” the company said in a statement. 
   
   General Mills said it made the recall out of an “abundance of caution.” 
   
   Liz Nordlie, president of General Mills’ baking division, said in a statement: “As a leading provider of flour for 150 years, we felt it was important to not only recall the product and replace it for consumers if there was any doubt, but also to take this opportunity to remind our consumers how to safely handle flour.” 
   
   The company advises consumers never to eat raw dough or batter. 
   
   Specific product recall information can be found at generalmills.com/flour. Consumers with additional questions can contact the company at 1-800-230-8103. ||||| (Reuters) - General Mills Inc (GIS.N) on Tuesday issued a voluntary recall of about 10 million pounds of flour, saying it was working with health officials to investigate an outbreak of E. coli that had sickened 38 people in 20 U.S. states. 
   
   The General Mills logo is seen on a box of Cheerios cereal in Evanston, Illinois, June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Young 
   
   The bacteria strain behind the outbreak has not been found in any of General Mills’ Gold Medal, Wondra and Signature Kitchens flour or their manufacturing plant, the company said. Consumers have not contacted it directly to report any illnesses, the Minneapolis-based company added. 
   
   “Out of an abundance of caution, a voluntary recall is being made,” General Mills said. 
   
   U.S. and state health authorities are probing an outbreak of E. coli O121 from Dec. 21 to May 3, General Mills said. The potentially deadly strain can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration, mostly among the elderly, very young children and people with weak immune systems. 
   
   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about half of the 38 sickened people reported cooking with flour before becoming ill, General Mills said. About half of this group reported using a General Mills brand, a company spokesman said in a phone interview. 
   
   Additional recall information can be found at www.generalmills.com/flour. 
   
   Kashi Co, owned by General Mills’ rival Kellogg Co (K.N), also announced a recall of one variety each of its granola and granola bars on Tuesday. 
   
   Kashi said the bars contained ingredients made from sunflower seeds distributed by SunOpta (SOY.TO) that had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. 
   
   The bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. 
   
   SunOpta this month recalled some of its sunflower kernel products produced at its Crookston, Minnesota facility between Feb. 1 and Feb. 19, citing the potential to be contaminated with listeria.
target: – General Mills is voluntarily recalling 10 million pounds of flour after 38 people across 20 states contracted E. coli, Food Safety News reports. The E. coli cases were reported between Dec. 21, 2015 and May 3, 2016. The recall includes Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens, and Gold Medal Wondra flour sold at Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Shaws, Jewel, United, Randalls, and Acme. According to Reuters, about half of those diagnosed with E. coli reported cooking with flour before becoming sickened. About half of those people said they'd used a General Mills brand of flour. It's possible some of those diagnosed with E. coli had eaten raw batter or dough, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. General Mills says it's recalling the flour "out of an abundance of caution." No E. coli has been found in any of its products or facilities. And the company hasn't had any consumers contact it directly about its products making them ill. “We felt it was important to not only recall the product and replace it for consumers if there was any doubt, but also to take this opportunity to remind our consumers how to safely handle flour,” the Star Tribune quotes the president of General Mills’ baking division as saying in a statement. Specifics of the recall can be found here.