If you’ve bought raw, organic carrots in the last month or so, check your refrigerator.
Health officials on Sunday issued an alert urging consumers to check their produce for bagged organic carrots recalled because of E. coli contamination.
Grimmway Farms, based in Bakersfield, California, voluntarily recalled raw, whole, and baby organic carrots sold under several brands distributed to retailers nationwide and linked to the outbreak.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recall alert, 39 people have been infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. in 18 states, including Michigan. Fifteen people have been hospitalized with infections and one person has died, the alert said. There is one confirmed case in Michigan associated with this outbreak, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
The number of people sickened by this outbreak is likely higher than reported.
“It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak,” the alert said.
Many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli, the FDA said.
While the carrots should no longer be for sale in stores, the concern is that they are still in consumers' refrigerators or freezers.
The bagged carrots, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recall alert, were available in stores roughly from Aug. 14 through Oct. 23.
Unpeeled raw carrots have a shelf life of three to four weeks in the refrigerator, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Fresh-cut or peeled have a shorter shelf life, about two to three weeks stored in the refrigerator.
If you have the recalled products, you should throw them away.
Whole carrots have no best-if-used-buy dates on the bags and were sold under more than a dozen brands, including Kroger’s Simple Truth, Whole Foods 365, Target’s Good & Gather, and Trader Joe’s.
Other brands include:
- Bunny Luv
- Cal-Organic
- Compliments
- Full Circle
- GreenWise
- Grimmway Farms
- Marketside
- Nature's Promise
- O-Organic
- President's Choice
- Raley's
- Sprouts
- Wegmans
- Wholesome Pantry
Bags of the organic peeled and cut baby carrots have best-if-used-by-dates ranging from Sept. 11 through Nov. 12 and are sold under the same brands as above.
What are the symptoms of E. coli?
While there are several strains of E. coli, the bacteria strain causing this outbreak of infections related to the organic carrots is Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121:H19, according to the recall alert.
Symptoms of E. coli, depending on the strain, (E. coli) according to the CDC include:
- Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102 degrees.
- Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
- Bloody diarrhea
- So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
- Watch for signs of dehydration including: Not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up
Symptoms of E. coli infections usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria and most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
The CDC says some people may develop serious kidney problems called hemolytic uremic syndrome or HUS, a type of kidney failure.
Who is at increased risk of E. coli?
At increased risk for E. coli infection, according to the CDC, include:
- Children younger than 5
- Adults 65 and older
- People with weakened immune systems
What consumers should do
- Do not eat or use the recalled products, throw them out.
- Clean and sanitize surfaces the recalled product may have touched.
- If you have or stored whole or baby carrots not in original packaging and don’t know the brand, you should throw them away.
What retailers and distributors should do
- Retailers and distributors should not sell bagged whole or baby carrots, which are likely past shelf-life and no longer available for sale in stores.
- Distributors and retailers should check their refrigerators and freezers and should not serve or sell recalled bagged whole or baby carrots.
Nearly 48 million people are sickened each year from a food-borne illness; 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die, the CDC estimates. The CDC estimates that about 265,000 illnesses and 100 deaths are caused by E. coli each year. More recently an E. coli outbreak was linked to slivered onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers.