DHSS Press Release

DELAWARE IMPACTED BY NATIONAL FOOD RECALL, PUBLIC HEALTH URGES CONSUMER CAUTION

DOVER, DE (June 10, 2016) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) is advising Delawareans of a voluntary recall of flour products produced between November 14, 2015 and December 4, 2015. Recalled products are sold in stores nationwide, or may be in consumers’ pantries, and are sold under three brand names: Gold Medal Flour, Signature Kitchens Flour and Gold Medal Wondra Flour. The varieties include unbleached, all-purpose, and self-rising flours that may be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 (STEC O121). At this time, there are no illnesses associated with these products in Delaware. Out of an abundance of caution, DPH is encouraging consumers to check their pantries for these products, and to discard or return them to the store where they were purchased.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) warns against eating raw dough products made with any brand of flour or baking mix before cooking. Consumers should always practice safe food handling and preparation measures when handling flour. The FDA recommends following these safe food-handling practices to stay healthy:

• Do not eat or play with any raw cookie dough or any other raw dough product made with flour that is intended to be cooked or baked.
• Follow package directions on baking mixes and other flour-containing products for proper cooking temperatures and for specified times.
• Wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with raw dough products containing flour.
• Keep raw foods separate from other foods while preparing them to prevent any contamination that might be present from spreading.

The recalled products were sold in Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme. DPH’s Health Systems Protection’s Office of Food Protection has confirmed that the products have been removed from Acme and Super G shelves in Delaware. The products were not shipped to Eastern Shore Safeway stores.

The recalled UPC codes and better if used by dates of the affected products are:

• 13.5 ounce Gold Medal Wondra (Package UPC 000-16000-18980; dates: 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017)
• 2 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour (Package UPC 000-16000-10710; dates: 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017KC)
• 5 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour (Package UPC 000-16000-10610; dates: 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC)
• 10 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour (Package UPC 000-16000-10410; dates: 02JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC)
• 10 pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour – Banded Pack (Package UPC 000-16000-10410; dates: 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KC)
• 5 pound Gold Medal Unbleached Flour (Package UPC 000-16000-19610; dates: 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC)
• 5 pound Signature Kitchens All Purpose Flour Enriched Bleached (Package UPC 000-21130-53001; dates: BB MAY 28 2017)
• 5 pound Signature Kitchens Unbleached Flour All Purpose Enriched (Package UPC 000-21130-53022; dates: BB MAY 27 2017)
• 2 pound Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour (Package UPC 000-16000-11710; dates: 23AUG2016KC)

People usually get sick from STEC O121 two to eight days (average of three to four days) after swallowing the bacteria. Most people develop diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps. Most people recover within a week. Some illnesses last longer and can be more severe, resulting in a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can occur in people of any age, but is most common in young children under 5 years old, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of HUS can include fever, abdominal pain, pale skin tone, fatigue and irritability, small, unexplained bruises or bleeding from the nose and mouth, and decreased urination. People who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

People of any age can become infected. Young children and the elderly are more likely than others to develop severe illness and HUS, but even healthy older children and young adults can become seriously ill.

If you or a member of your family has consumed (or believe that you have consumed) one of the recalled products and are experiencing any of the symptoms above, seek medical attention.

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), multiple states, and the U.S. FDA are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/general/index.html) O121 (STEC O121) infections.

• 38 people infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O121 have been reported from 20 states. According to the CDC, Maryland has reported one case while two cases each have been reported in Pennsylvania and Virginia. There are no confirmed cases in Delaware at this time.
• 10 ill people have been hospitalized. No one has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, and no deaths have been reported.

Collaborative investigative efforts indicate that flour produced at the General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri is a likely source of this outbreak. DPH staff is working with the FDA and local partners to determine if any additional recalled products were shipped to Delaware. For further information on STEC O121, visit the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2016/o121-06-16/index.html.

For questions regarding the recalled products, contact the General Mills Consumer Hotline at 800-230-8103. For any questions regarding illness, contact your health care provider. For medical providers to report suspected cases of STEC O121 associated with consumption of the recalled food, call the DPH Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at 302-744-4990 or 24/7 at 888-295-5156.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.