By Daisy Luther

General Mills is voluntarily recalling its 5-pound bags of Gold Medal Flour because the product may be contaminated with E.coli 026.

300 tons of Gold Medal All Purpose Unbleached Flour is subject to the recall. On Sept. 16, 2019, General Mills released the following statement.

General Mills announced today a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour with a better if used by date of September 6, 2020.

The recall is being issued for the potential presence of E. coli O26 which was discovered during sampling of the five-pound bag product. This recall is being issued out of an abundance of care as General Mills has not received any direct consumer reports of confirmed illnesses related to this product.

This recall only affects this one date code of Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour five-pound bags. All other types of Gold Medal Flour are not affected by this recall.

Consumers are asked to check their pantries and dispose of the product affected by this recall. Consumers who have had to discard products covered by this recall may contact General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103 or visit GeneralMills.com/flour. (source)

The statement goes on to cite the FDA and the CDC, warning that people shouldn’t eat uncooked products containing flour. General Mills continues:

E. coli O26 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. (source)

This isn’t the first time General Mills has recalled flour.

Earlier this year, General Mills was involved in a large recall of flour due to potential salmonella and in June, there was another recall of flour potentially contaminated with E.coli that named three other brands.