General Mills is reporting a voluntary national recall of two-, five- and 10-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour due to potential presence of Salmonella Infantis.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted the nationwide recall, which affects two date codes and four bagged products only, and is based on a sampling of the five-pound bag product.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella Infantis, a bacteria, often experience nausea, diarrhea, fever and abdominal pains.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are 1.2 million cases annually of Salmonella Infantis in the U.S., with symptoms typically starting within six hours to six days after infection and lasting four to seven days. Any consumers concerned about an illness should contact a physician, with severe illnesses sometimes requiring hospitalization.
Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that consumers should refrain from consuming any raw products made with flour, including raw dough, a subject which both it and the CDC often stress during holiday baking periods.
Salmonella Infantisis is killed by heat through baking, frying, sautéing or boiling products made with flour. All surfaces, hands and utensils should be properly cleaned after contact with flour or dough, they note.
Listings of recalls, which often are posted by the FDA, are available at https://bit.ly/3tEDguJ.