(By Daisy Luther) Attention Scratch Cookers and Bakers: You’re going to want to spread this information far and wide. The latest potentially tainted food being recalled is…flour. Multiple brands are pulling flour off the shelves around the country due to the possibility of E. coli contamination.
King Arthur Unbleached Flour and Pillsbury Best Bread Flour join Baker’s Best Flour in being recalled. Below, find the specific products that have been called back. All of the potentially contaminated flours were milled at ADM Milling company.
If you’re like me, you immediately repackage goods like flour. I pop mine right into a canister that lives on my counter. From now on, I’ll be keeping the clipping the UPCs off the packages and putting them in a drawer until the product is used up.
Baker’s Corner
Out of an abundance of caution, ALDI has recalled all best if used by dates and all lots of 5 lb. Bakers Corner All Purpose Flour products produced by ADM Milling Co. in Buffalo, N.Y. from store shelves in these states: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.
You can return your flour to Aldi for a full refund. If you have additional questions you may contact ADM Milling Co. Customer Service at 800-422-1688 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CT. about Baker’s Corner flour.
King Arthur Flour
King Arthur Flour, Inc. is voluntarily recalling 14,218 cases of 5 lb. Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.a
As per the FDA, the only product affected by this voluntary recall is Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (5 lb.) from these six specific lot codes and three Best Used by Dates, which can be found on the bottom of the side panel, below the nutrition facts panel.
BEST USED BY 12/07/19 LOT: L18A07C
BEST USED BY 12/08/19 LOTS: L18A08A, L18A08B
BEST USED BY 12/14/19 LOTS: L18A14A, L18A14B, L18A14C
This product was distributed nationwide. If you have questions about this recall or King Arthur Flour products, call the King Arthur Flour Consumer Hotline 7 days a week/24 hours a day at 866.797.9178
Pillsbury Best Bread Flour
Hometown Food Company has recalled its Pillsbury Best Bread label flour, as per the FDA. This bread was distributed to retailers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Pillsbury Best™ Bread Flour – UPC: 0 5150020031 5 – Lot Code: 8342 – Use by JUN 08 2020
Pillsbury Best™ Bread Flour – UPC: 0 5150020031 5 – Lot Code: 8343 – Use by JUN 09 2020
Hometown Food recommends you discard the product or return it to the store for a full refund. Their customer service phone number is 1-866-219-9333.
What is E. coli?
E. coli is a bacterium found in the intestines of humans and animals. 17 people have become ill during the current outbreak from flour.
The CDC says:
Symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection vary for each person, but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. Some people may have a fever, which usually is not very high (less than 101˚F/38.5˚C). Most people get better within 5 to 7 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening.
Most people with a STEC infection start feeling sick 3 to 4 days after eating or drinking something that contains the bacteria. However, illnesses can start anywhere from 1 to 10 days after exposure. Contact your healthcare provider if you have diarrhea that lasts for more than 3 days or diarrhea that is accompanied by a fever higher than 102˚F, blood in the stool, or so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down and you pass very little urine. (source)
Regarding the current outbreak, the CDC recommends:
Consumers should not use any of the recalled flour. Throw it out.
- If you stored flour in another container without the packaging and don’t remember the brand or “use by” date, throw it away.
- Thoroughly wash the container before using it again.
Eating raw dough can make you sick.
- Any flour or raw eggs used to make dough or batter might be contaminated with harmful germs.
- Bake or cook food made with raw dough or batter before eating it. Follow the recipe or instructions on the package. Do not use recalled flour in cooking or baking.
- Do not taste raw dough or batter. Even tasting a small amount could make you sick.
Clean up thoroughly after baking.
- Wash any bowls, utensils, and other surfaces that were used when baking with warm water and soap.
- Wash your hands with water and soap before and after baking.
Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have become ill from eating raw dough.
Restaurants and other retailers should not use, sell or serve any of the recalled flour.
- If you stored flour in another container without the packaging and don’t remember the brand or “use by” date, throw it away.
- Restaurants and retailers should thoroughly wash flour storage containers before using them again. (source)
You know the old adage: when in doubt, throw it out!
Do you have any of the affected products?
Do you have any of these flours on hand? What do you think about the abundance of recalls that have occurred recently? Let us know in the comments.
About the Author: Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, gun-toting blogger who writes about current events, preparedness, frugality, voluntaryism, and the pursuit of liberty on her website, The Organic Prepper. She is widely republished across alternative media and she curates all the most important news links on her aggregate site, PreppersDailyNews.com. Daisy is the best-selling author of 4 books and lives in the mountains of Virginia with her two daughters and an ever-growing menagerie. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.