Especially if you spend more time in the kitchen when chilly weather comes, check your pantry for any bags with these codes.
They’ve been in business for nearly 160 years, and today General Mills (GM) is the maker behind household brands like Pillsbury, Annie’s Organics, Yoplait, even Blue Buffalo pet food.
Though if your mind first goes to cereal when you think of the Minnesota-based manufacturer, their logo is certainly on plenty of those tall breakfast boxes, along with other dry goods made with wheat—it only makes sense that’s where the “Mills” was inspired. According to a Sept. 5 report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a 2.5-years-long recall on GM’s Gold Medal Flour—the number one-selling flour brand in America—has now come to a close. The voluntary recall impacted 142,408 bags of Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour in the five- and ten pound bags, and 271,454 bags of Gold Medal Bleached All Purpose Flour in the two- and five-pound bags.
The 413,862 bags of Gold Medal flour were found to be contaminated with Salmonella infantis, which Science Direct explains is a common subtype of Salmonella bacteria that can cause food-borne illness, particularly among agricultural food products. The Mayo Clinic note that symptoms of Salmonella infection typically present between six hours and six days after exposure to the bacteria, and can include diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, headache, and blood in the stool—but as Science Direct notes, this type of Salmonella can show particularly resistance to antibiotics and other treatments.
Importantly, the FDA points out that flour is raw, meaning it hasn’t been treated to kill microbes before reaching the consumer. “Cooking and baking is what kills any bacteria in flour, as well as in raw eggs that are often used with it,” the agency notes.
That point may tie to another common misconception about flour, as it’s often mistaken for a non-perishable. The FDA reports the recalled Gold Flour bags were marked with a “better if used by” date of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024, and it might be wise to check your supply.
FDA experts add that while many people are aware of the dangers of eating raw meat and eggs, far fewer realize that eating uncooked flour (usually in the form of dough or batter) could yield similar dangers. A 2022 study found that one-third of Americans have eaten raw flour within the previous year, and most “do not consider flour as risky to consume.”
To stay safe, avoid eating or tasting uncooked flour, and be sure to wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling it. “Also, don’t let children use raw dough for crafts or ‘play clay,’” the FDA warns. “Even if children don’t eat the dough, they may put their hands in their mouth after handling it.”
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