A recall is under way for baby and whole organic carrots in 18 states, including New York, after E. coli sickened 39 people, hospitalized 15 and killed one, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Sunday.
Most of those infected live in New York, Minnesota and Washington, as well as California and Oregon, the CDC said.
Grimmway Farms of Bakersfield, Calif., recalled “multiple sizes and brands” of the bagged carrots, the CDC said, including those at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods’ 365 brand and Wegmans.
Also affected were the brands Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature’s Promise, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Simple Truth, Sprouts and Wholesome Pantry.
The baby carrots carried best-if-used-by dates of Sept. 11 through Nov. 12 of this year. Whole carrots do not have a used-by date but were on store shelves from Aug. 14 through Oct. 23, the CDC said.
“Carrots on store shelves right now are likely not affected but may be in people’s homes,” the CDC said in a statement. “If you have any recalled carrots in your home, throw them out or return them to the store.”
While they’re no longer in stores, they “may be in consumers’ refrigerators of freezers,” the CDC warned.
“The implicated farms are out of production, and none of the recalled carrots have tested positive for E. coli O121:H19,” the strain associated with the outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
