Two Massachusetts Residents Sickened in E. Coli Outbreak Linked to Nationwide Flour Recall

• By Dennis Robaugh

The CDC says E. coli O121 has infected two in Massachusetts, part of a recent outbreak that so far has sickened 38 people in 20 states.

The outbreak is connected to recently recalled General Mills flour products, with many of the afflicted reporting they handled or ate uncooked dough.

Ten people were hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but none developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure linked to this strain of bacteria. No deaths have been reported.

As of May 31, the 20 states with E. coli outbreak patients were:

• Illinois: 4
• Michigan: 4
• Colorado: 4
• Minnesota: 3
• Arizona: 2
• Massachusetts 2
• Oklahoma: 2
• Pennsylvania: 2
• Texas: 2
• Virginia: 2
• Washington: 2

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New York and Wisconsin each have one reported E. coli case.

The sick ranged in age from 1 to 95, with a median age of 18, according to the CDC. And 78 percent were female. At least 12 of the victims reported eating or playing with raw dough.

The voluntary recall, issued Tuesday, involves Gold Medal, Safeway Kitchens and Wondra flour brands. Most of the recalled product, including bleached and unbleached flour, was processed in November at a Kansas City, Missouri, facility owned by General Mills.

"Collaborative investigative efforts indicate that flour produced at the General Mills facility in Kansas City, Missouri is a likely source of this outbreak," reports the CDC, although no product samples tested by the government showed positive results for E. coli O121.

• • learn more about the sizes and varieties of flour products recalled, including package UPC codes

General Mills said in a statement that E. coli O121, has not been found in any General Mills flour products or in the flour manufacturing facility.

The Gold Medal products were shipped nationwide. Signature Kitchens products are sold at such retailers as Safeway, Albertsons, Jewel, Shaws, Vons, United, Randalls and Acme, General Mills reported.

Federal officials recognized the E. coli outbreak in February, Food Safety News reports, but did not find until late April the connections that prompted General Mills to issue the nationwide recall.

The reported infections began on Dec. 21, 2015, and run through May 3, 2016, but more cases could still be identified, according to the CDC.

General Mills advises people not to eat uncooked dough. Boiling, frying or baking the dough should eliminate any disease-causing bacteria.