The ALDI Bakers Corner Flour E. coli O26 outbreak has sickened 17 people in 8 states, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Three of those patients have been hospitalized because they are so sick. The notice did not state whether or not any patients have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure that is a complication of this type of infection.
The Rhode Island Department of Health collected and analyzed an unopened sample of this flour and found that the flour contained E. coli O26. A public warning was issued to the public on May 22, 2019. The investigation is ongoing, but DNA analysis found that the E. coli in the unopened sample of flour was closely related to the isolates from ill persons.
Epidemiological and laboratory evidence indicates that flour is a likely source of this outbreak. ADM Milling and ALDI recalled this all purpose flour on May 22, 2019, and expanded the recall to all lots and best if used by dates of the product on May 23, 2019.
Five pound bags of Baker’s Corner All-Purpose Flour are included in this recall. They were sold at retail stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachussetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia. The FDA may issue more recalls, after they determine whether other lots of flour made at ADM Milling may be contaminated.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker said, “This is not the first E. coli outbreak associated with flour; the last was linked to General Mills flour in 2016, and it won’t be the last. No one should get sick and be hospitalized just because they purchased flour from a grocery store.” Fred has represented many clients who have been sickened by food contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Raw flour is an agricultural product just like romaine lettuce and fruit such as cantaloupe. It has not been treated to kill bacteria, and should be handled with care.
The outbreak notice has lots of advice for consumers. Do not taste raw dough or batter. Wash bowls, utensils, and other surfaces with hot water and soap after you have used flour in your kitchen. Wash your hands well too after you are done cooking. In addition, parents should not make homemade play doughs with raw, or uncooked, flour.
The symptoms of an E. coli infection include severe and painful abdominal cramps, along with diarrhea that is bloody and watery. People usually get sick a few days to a week after ingesting food contaminated with this pathogen. If you or anyone in your family has been sick with these symptoms, and you have the recalled flour in your house, see your doctor. You could be part of this ALDI Bakers Corner Flour E. coli O26 outbreak.
So my question is:
If ADM Milling is the culprit who else do they source to? Is the bread. muffins and even snack cakes susceptible to this pathogen? Why aren’t we told about such things in a timely manner? They always seem to wait and trickle the information before we get the real dangers of consuming these products.