USA – General Mills, an American multinational manufacturer of processed consumer foods has issued a voluntary national recall of 2-pound, 5-pound, and 10-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour over suspected Salmonella Infantis.
The World Grain reported that the recall applied to the consignment with a “better if used by” date of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024.
General Mills revealed that the recall follows the recent discovery of the potential presence of Salmonella Infantis in 5-lb bags of the product during testing, however, other types of Gold Medal flour are not impacted by the recall.
In detail, the company statement unveiled that the recall affects two date codes of Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose Flour in the 5-pound and 10-pound bags and two date codes of Gold Medal Bleached All-Purpose flour in the 2-pound and 5-pound bags.
“Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that consumers should refrain from consuming any raw products made with flour.”
In addition, FDA states that Salmonella Infantis is killed by heat through baking, frying, sautéing, or boiling products made with flour. The agency further advised that all surfaces, hands, and utensils should be properly cleaned after contact with flour or dough.
However, the FDA has not said whether General Mills’ recall is linked to an earlier investigation into Salmonella that is suspected to have originated from a single unidentified flour source.
According to the CDC report, flour was the only common ingredient consumed by every patient sickened in the outbreak. As of March 30, 11 people in 12 states had been reported as being infected with the Salmonella strain, however, no deaths have been reported.
Three years ago, Gold Medal Unbleached All-Purpose Flour was recalled twice — once due to the potential presence of E. coli O26, which also was discovered during sampling of the 5-pound bag product, and once after Salmonella was detected during the sampling of the product.
Further, in 2016, General Mills was involved in a major recall that centered around its Gold Medal Flour and Gold Medal Wondra which was associated with an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), which the CDC said infected 63 people in 24 states.
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