 (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. “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. Retailers that received shipments of the recalled flour include Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme. “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. 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. 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. E. coli O121 — a less common strain of the E. coli bacteria — can cause bloody diarrhea, cramps and dehydration. The potentially deadly strain can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration, mostly among the elderly, very young children and people with weak immune systems. “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. 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. “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. About half of this group reported using a General Mills brand, a company spokesman said in a phone interview. “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. 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.
– 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.