Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots sold in U.S., Canada, officials say

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Peggy

One person has died in an E. coli outbreak that has sickened dozens of people who ate organic carrots that were sold in Canada and the U.S., according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at least 39 people were ill with E. coli infections, including 15 hospitalizations, linked to fresh carrots sold by several large grocery retailers in 18 states. The Public Health Agency of Canada said it has not identified any cases regarding the recalled product in Canada.

The CDC said in a statement that the infections are linked to whole bagged carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms in California at retailers including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, among other stores.

The baby carrot brands include 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Grimmway Farms, O-Organic, President’s Choice, Trader Joe’s, Wegmans and others. Whole, organic carrot brands are also under recall, the FDA said.

On Monday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency posted a recall notice for organic carrots.

The recalled whole carrots were sold between Aug. 14 and Oct. 23. The recalled baby carrots had best-if-used-by dates ranging from Sept. 11 through Nov. 12.

The carrots are unlikely to still be on store shelves, the CDC said, but may still be in the homes of consumers and should be thrown away.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Saturday that Grimmway Farms had issued a voluntary recall of the carrots, which were also shipped to stores in Canada and Puerto Rico.

The Public Health Agency of Canada also encouraged consumers to sign up for food recall notifications.