Warnings have been issued across several states in the US after a significant breakout of E.coli linked to organic carrots.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and public health officials across 18 states are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O121 infections linked to multiple brands of recalled organic whole bagged carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms.

They have warned that carrots on store shelves in the US right now are likely not affected but may be in people’s homes and are advising people to throw them out or return them to the store.

To date, 39 illnesses with 15 hospitalisations and one death have been associated with an E. coli O121 outbreak.

Organic carrots

The warnings comes following a recall in the past two days by Grimmway Farms of multiples sizes and brands of bagged organic baby and whole carrots. The implicated farms are out of production.

Authorities have issued the following information in related to the batches:

Baby Organic Carrots – best-if-used-by dates ranging from 09/11/2024 to 11/12/2024. Brands: 365; 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; Trader Joe’s; Wegmans; Wholesome Pantry.

Whole Organic Carrots – were available for purchase in stores approximately from 14/08/2024 through 23/10/2024. No best-if-used-by-dates are on the bags of organic whole carrots.

Brands: 365; Bunny Luv; Cal-Organic; Compliments; Full Circle; Good & Gather; GreenWise; Marketside; Nature’s Promise; O-Organic; President’s Choice; Simple Truth; Trader Joe’s; Wegmans; Wholesome Pantry.

Symptoms of E.coli

According to the CDC, most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.

Symptoms usually start 3-4 days after swallowing the bacteria. Most people recover without treatment after 5-7 days.

Some people may develop serious kidney problems (hemolytic uremic syndrome, also called HUS) and would need to be hospitalised.