CLOSE General Mills has issued a rare recall of nearly 10 million pounds of flour, due to a possible link to an outbreak of E. coli. Wochit 
 
 General Mills recalled a broad range of flour on May 31, 2016, because of a possible link to an E. coli outbreak associated with eating something homemade made with flour. (Photo: General Mills) 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO — In a rare recall of baking and cooking flour, General Mills on Tuesday issued a recall of 10 million pounds of flour because of a possible link to an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened 38 people in 20 states since December. 
 
 The recall covers some bags of Gold Medal bleached and unbleached flour, bleached and unbleached Signature Kitchen flour, Gold Medal self-rising flour and Gold Medal Wondra quick-mixing flour. A full list of the recalled flours is listed below and on the General Mills website. 
 
 General Mills’ Gold Medal flour is the most widely used flour in the United States, spokesman Mike Siemienas said. 
 
 The E. coli outbreak involves E. coli O121, a potentially deadly Shiga toxin-producing variant of the bacteria that can cause cramps, diarrhea that's sometimes bloody, vomiting and on occasion life-threatening complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 Retailers that sold the recalled flour include Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls, and Acme. 
 
 The CDC found about half of the people sickened in the outbreak of E. coli O121 reported making something homemade with flour prior to becoming ill. Some reported using a General Mills brand of flour. 
 
 General Mills noted no E. coli O121 has been found in any of its flour products, and the company is issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution. 
 
 “As a leading provider of flour for 150 years, we felt it was important to not only recall the product and replace it for consumers if there was any doubt, but also to take this opportunity to remind our consumers how to safely handle flour,” Liz Nordlie, president of General Mills Baking division, said in a statement. 
 
 The flour was milled at General Mills’ Kansas City, Mo., plant, said Siemienas. 
 
 Food borne illness outbreaks linked to flour are extremely rare. Seattle food safety lawyer Bill Marler, widely regarded as an expert in the field, said the only other one he could recall was the 2009 recall of Nestle Toll House cookie dough, which was believed to be tied to the flour used to make the dough. 
 
 General Mills noted flour is made by milling wheat, which is grown outdoors and carries the risk of bacteria. The bacteria are killed by baking, frying or boiling. 
 
 The company reminded consumers to wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with raw dough products or flour, and to never eat raw dough or batter. 
 
 The people who got sick may have consumed raw dough or batter, General Mills said in a statement. 
 
 Minneapolis, Minn.-based General Mills' (GIS) stock dropped slightly in after-hours trading on the news. 
 
 Recalled flour: 
 
 - 13.5-ounce Gold Medal Wondra, UPC 000-16000-18980; Better if Used by Dates 25FEB2017 thru 30MAR2017 
 
 - 2-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10710; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC thru 03JUN2017K 
 
 - 5-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC thru 31MAY2017KC, 01JUN2017KC, 03JUN2017KC thru 05JUN2017KC, 11JUN2017KC thru 14JUN2017KC 
 
 - 10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour, UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 02JUN2017KC,03JUN2017KC 
 
 - 10-pound Gold Medal All Purpose Flour Banded Pack, UPC 000-16000-10410; Better if Used by Dates 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC, 05JUN2017KC 
 
 - 5-pound Gold Medal Unbleached Flour, UPC 000-16000-19610; Better if Used by Dates 25MAY2017KC, 27MAY2017KC, 03JUN2017KC, 04JUN2017KC 
 
 - 5-pound Signature Kitchens All Purpose Flour Enriched Bleached, UPC 000-21130-53001; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 28 2017 
 
 - 5-pound Signature Kitchens Unbleached Flour All Purpose Enriched, UPC 000-21130-53022; Better if Used by Dates BB MAY 27 2017 
 
 - 2-pound Gold Medal Self Rising Flour, UPC 000-16000-11710; Better if Used by Dates 23AUG2016KC 
 
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 Maybe you’ve swiped a bite of raw cookie dough while preparing a batch to bake. Or perhaps you’ve let your children lick the batter from the cake bowl, or use homemade “play dough” to make crafts. But even if the dough is free of raw eggs, which you think might give you a pass, don’t eat it. 
 
 Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration issued a message warning people not to eat raw dough because of a recent outbreak of E. coli linked to contaminated flour . 
 
 So far, a reported 38 people in 20 states have been infected by a strain of bacteria called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121 found in flour. The infections began last December, and 10 of those infected have been hospitalized. 
 
 Symptoms of the bacterial infection include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. Most people get better within a week, but in some cases, infections can lead to a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome. Those who are most vulnerable to severe illness include children under 5, older adults and people with weakened immune systems. 
 
 Investigations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the F.D.A. traced the source of the outbreak to flour that was produced in November 2015 at the General Mills facility in Kansas City, Mo. General Mills has issued a voluntary recall of 10 million pounds of flour produced between Nov. 14 and Dec. 4, sold under three brand names: Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens and Gold Medal Wondra. Flour that is part of the recall should be thrown away. 
 
 Unlike other raw foods, like eggs or meat — which many people recognize as contamination risks — “flour is not the type of thing that we commonly associate with pathogens,” said Jenny Scott, a senior adviser in the F.D.A.’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 
 
 In this case, investigators believe that the grain became contaminated in the field, where it is exposed to manure, cattle, birds and other bacteria. “E. coli is a gut bug that can spread from a cow doing its business in the field, or it could live in the soil for a period of time; and if you think about it, flour comes from the ground, so it could be a risk,” said Adam Karcz, an infection preventionist at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. 
 
 Normally, flour is cooked before it is consumed, destroying any pathogens. “For the most part, the risk from flour is pretty low, and most use of flour involves a ‘kill step’ — people bake with it,” Ms. Scott said. In commercial uses like “raw” cookie-dough ice cream, companies generally heat-treat it to eliminate bacteria, she said. 
 
 Consumers, then, need to be aware that they should follow food safety guidelines for flour. That means washing your hands thoroughly before and after handling raw flour. And Ms. Scott warned against letting children play with homemade play dough. “Kids are going to handle it and touch their faces, and they’re going to lick their fingers; it’s hard to supervise that,” she said. 
 
 At home, Mr. Karcz suggests sealing your flour container and storing it in a cool, dry place to prevent contamination. And after using flour, be sure to clean up your countertops, cutting boards and utensils to prevent the spread of any bacteria. 
 
 If you do develop symptoms of infection, contact your health care practitioner for treatment and to report the illness, particularly if you suspect it’s connected to an outbreak. 
 
 “We want to encourage consumers to report their illnesses, even though it’s an imperfect system,” Ms. Scott said. “We’d like to have the tests done and get everything reported and identify these outbreaks so we can follow up, discover root causes and make changes in the system so that people don’t get sick in the future.” ||||| Some kinds of E. coli cause disease by making a toxin called Shiga toxin. The bacteria that make these toxins are called “Shiga toxin-producing” E. coli, or STEC for short. You might hear these bacteria called verocytotoxic E. coli (VTEC) or enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC); these all refer generally to the same group of bacteria. The strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O104:H4 that caused a large outbreak in Europe in 2011 was frequently referred to as EHEC. The most commonly identified STEC in North America is E. coli O157:H7 (often shortened to E. coli O157 or even just “O157”). When you hear news reports about outbreaks of “E. coli” infections, they are usually talking about E. coli O157. 
 
 In addition to E. coli O157, many other kinds (called serogroups) of STEC cause disease. Other E. coli serogroups in the STEC group, including E. coli O145, are sometimes called "non-O157 STECs." Currently, there are limited public health surveillance data on the occurrence of non-O157 STECs, including STEC O145; many STEC O145 infections may go undiagnosed or unreported. 
 
 Compared with STEC O157 infections, identification of non-O157 STEC infections is more complex. First, clinical laboratories must test stool samples for the presence of Shiga toxins. Then, the positive samples must be sent to public health laboratories to look for non-O157 STEC. Clinical laboratories typically cannot identify non-O157 STEC. Other non-O157 STEC serogroups that often cause illness in people in the United States include O26, O111, and O103. Some types of STEC frequently cause severe disease, including bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure. ||||| Español 
 
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 Do you find it hard to resist gobbling up a piece of raw dough when making cookies, or letting your children scrape the bowl? Do your kids use raw dough to make ornaments or homemade “play” clay? Do you eat at family restaurants that give kids raw dough to play with while you’re waiting for the food? 
 
 If your answer to any of those questions is yes, that could be a problem. Eating raw dough or batter—whether it’s for bread, cookies, pizza or tortillas—could make you, and your kids, sick, says Jenny Scott, a senior advisor in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 
 
 According to Scott, the bottom line for you and your kids is don’t eat raw dough. And even though there are websites devoted to “flour crafts,” don’t give your kids raw dough or baking mixes that contain flour to play with. 
 
 Why? Flour, regardless of the brand, can contain bacteria that cause disease. In 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local officials, investigated an outbreak of infections that illustrated the dangers of eating raw dough. Dozens of people across the country were sickened by a strain of bacteria called Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121. 
 
 The investigation found that raw dough eaten or handled by some of the patients was made with flour found in subsequent tests by the FDA to have the same bacterium that was making people sick. Ten million pounds of flour were recalled, including unbleached, all-purpose, and self-rising varieties. 
 
 Some of the recalled flours had been sold to restaurants that allow children to play with dough made from the raw flour while waiting for their meals. CDC advises restaurants not to give customers raw dough. 
 
 Why Flour? 
 
 People often understand the dangers of eating raw dough due to the presence of raw eggs and the associated risk with Salmonella. However, consumers should be aware that there are additional risks associated with the consumption of raw dough, such as particularly harmful strains of E. coli in a product like flour. 
 
 “Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria,” says Leslie Smoot, Ph.D., a senior advisor in FDA’s Office of Food Safety and a specialist in the microbiological safety of processed foods. So if an animal heeds the call of nature in the field, bacteria from the animal waste could contaminate the grain, which is then harvested and milled into flour. 
 
 Common “kill steps” applied during food preparation and/or processing (so-called because they kill bacteria that cause infections) include boiling, baking, roasting, microwaving, and frying. But with raw dough, no kill step has been used. 
 
 And don’t make homemade cookie dough ice cream either. If that’s your favorite flavor, buy commercially made products. Manufacturers should use ingredients that include treated flour and pasteurized eggs. 
 
 Symptoms and Who Gets Sick 
 
 Common symptoms for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli are diarrhea (often bloody) and abdominal cramps, although most people recover within a week. But 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, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. 
 
 Parents of young children should be particularly aware. For instance, if your child is in day care or kindergarten, a common pastime may be art using “play” clay that is homemade from raw dough. Even if they’re not munching on the dough, they’re putting their hands in their mouth after handling the dough. Childcare facilities and preschools should discourage the practice of playing with raw dough. 
 
 Handle Foods Safely 
 
 FDA offers these tips for safe food handling to keep you and your family healthy: 
 
 Do not eat any raw cookie dough, cake mix, batter, or any other raw dough or batter product that is supposed to be cooked or baked. 
 
 Follow package directions for cooking products containing flour at proper temperatures and for specified times. 
 
 Wash hands, work surfaces, and utensils thoroughly after contact with flour and raw dough products. 
 
 Keep raw foods separate from other foods while preparing them to prevent any contamination that may be present from spreading. Be aware that flour may spread easily due to its powdery nature. 
 
 Follow label directions to chill products containing raw dough promptly after purchase until baked. 
 
 Updated: November 28, 2017 
 
 back to top ||||| It's delicious and eating it is the best part of cookie baking. 
 
 But the Food and Drug Administration wants us to stop consuming cookie dough. Not because of oft-maligned eggs, long linked to risks of salmonella. The culprit this time: raw flour. 
 
 The FDA is urging consumers to avoid snacking on uncooked dough or batter of any kind after an outbreak of E. coli bacteria that's infected at least 38 people in 20 states. The agency notes in a message this week that parents should be wary of homemade "play" clays and doughs -- even if children don't eat it, the bacteria could be still be transmitted via their hands. 
 
 The string of sicknesses has been linked to flour that General Mills produced. The company has issued a voluntary recall of 10 million pounds it sold under the Gold Medal, Signature Kitchen's and Gold Medal Wondra brand names. 
 
 Anyone with flour in the recall should throw it away, the FDA said. 
 
 The outbreak points to a lack of understanding consumers have with disease risk related to raw ingredients, particularly flour, which isn't often treated to kill bacteria. 
 
 "Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria,” said Leslie Smoot, a senior advisor in the FDA's office of food safety, in a press release. 
 
 This bacteria can be rendered harmless during normal food preparation -- what the FDA calls "kill steps" -- such as baking, frying or microwaving. However, consumers who spurn such time-consuming processes can put themselves at risk with a quick lick of the spoon.
– The FDA's latest kill-joy for thousands of kids (and their parents) who like to lick the bowl: Don't eat it. And not because of the raw eggs, which can be tied to salmonella poisoning, the Huffington Post notes. This time the culprit is raw flour, which has been linked to an E. coli outbreak that's sickened at least 38 people in 20 states since December, USA Today reported last month. This particular strain of E. coli (O121) is a Shiga toxin-producing variety that can cause diarrhea, cramping, vomiting, and even death, per the CDC. The FDA warning even extends to parents who make homemade Play-Doh out of flour and water, as well as restaurants, schools, and daycare facilities that offer kids flour-based dough to play with, as the harmful bacteria can still be passed on by someone touching foods made with the flour. General Mills voluntarily recalled 10 million pounds of flour sold under the Gold Medal, Signature Kitchens, and Gold Medal Wondra names at the end of May (the FDA notes you should throw bags of these brands away), even though the agency says the danger could lurk in any brand. "Flour is derived from a grain that comes directly from the field and typically is not treated to kill bacteria," an FDA rep says—meaning bacteria "from a cow doing its business in the field" could end up being milled into flour, an Indianapolis infection specialist tells the New York Times. It's not common to see outbreaks of this sort linked to flour, a food safety lawyer told USA Today, noting the last time he could remember was a Nestle Toll House cookie dough recall in 2009. The FDA says if you've got to get your cookie dough fix, stick with commercially made ice creams that contain cookie dough chunks, as they're typically made with treated flour and pasteurized eggs. (A Slate columnist may have to give up her cookie dough habit.)