FDA updates Carrot E. coli Outbreak and Recall

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Product

Grimmway Farms initiated a voluntary recall of multiple sizes and brands of bagged organic whole and baby carrots.

• Organic whole carrots were available for purchase at retail from August 14 through October 23, 2024 (Brands: 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O Organics, President’s Choice, Simple Truth, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Wholesome Pantry).
• Organic baby carrots include specific best-if-used-by dates printed on the bags ranging from September 11 to November 12, 2024 (Brands: 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Kroger, LIDL, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O Organics, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Wholesome Pantry).

On November 21, 2024, the recall expanded to include additional bag sizes for organic whole carrots under the following labels:

• Bunny Luv: 50-lb
• Cal-Organic: 15-lb and 50-lb
• Good & Gather: 1-lb

A full list of recalled products is below. These products are likely no longer available for sale in stores but could be in people’s homes.

Additional recalls are being conducted by companies that used or repackaged recalled carrots that may have been supplied by Grimmway Farms:

• 4Earth Farms – multiple brands (added 11/29/2024)
• Fabalish Inc. Kickin’ Carrot Falafel Bites (added 11/21/2024)
• Whole Foods Market Organic Carrot Sticks and Organic Carrots & Celery Sticks (added 11/21/2024)

Symptoms of E. coli

Symptoms include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. Symptoms begin anywhere from a few days after consuming contaminated food or up to nine days later.

The severity or presence of certain symptoms may depend on the type of pathogenic E. coli that is causing the infection. Some infections can cause severe bloody diarrhea and lead to life-threatening conditions, such as a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), or the development of high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, and neurologic problems.

Recommendation

• Consumers should check their refrigerators and freezers and should not eat recalled bagged organic whole or baby carrots. If you have these products in your home, do not eat or use them, throw them away, and clean and sanitize surfaces they touched. If you purchased organic whole or baby carrots and stored them without the original packaging and don’t know what brand they are, you should not eat them and should throw them away.
• Retailers and distributors that purchased recalled bagged organic whole or baby carrots should not sell this product and should notify their customers. These products are likely past shelf-life and no longer available for sale in stores, but distributors and retailers should check their refrigerators and freezers and should not serve or sell recalled bagged whole or baby carrots.
  • Retailers that are unsure if they received these products may need to contact their supplier. If you are unable to determine whether or not recalled product was received, you should discard the contents of the bins and use extra care to clean and sanitize the bins before refilling.
• Retailers, distributors, and consumers should follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice and use extra care in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
• Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have symptoms of an E. coli infection after eating organic carrots.

Current Update

November 29, 2024

On November 26, 2024, 4Earth Farms of Commerce, California, recalled multiple brands of Organic Vegetable Medley, Conventional Vegetable Medley, and Organic Whole Carrots. The recall was initiated after 4Earth Farms was notified by Grimmway Farms, Inc. that carrots used in the Vegetable Medleys and Whole Organic Carrots may have been contaminated with E. coli O121:H19.

A full list of recalled products is below. These products are likely no longer available for sale in stores but could be in people’s homes.

FDA’s investigation is ongoing and more information will be provided as it becomes available.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/fda-updates-carrot-e-coli-outbreak-and-recall/