The Kane County Health Department is advising consumers that General Mills has announced a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour with a “better if used by” date of Sept. 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. 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 www.generalmills.com/flour.

Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control continues to warn that consumers should refrain from consuming any raw products made with flour. 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.

Kane County Health Department has an abundance of information on food safety online at http://kanehealth.com/Pages/Food-Safety.aspx.

About E. Coli O26

People usually get sick from Shiga toxin-producing E. coli within two to eight days after swallowing the organism. Most people infected with STEC O26 develop diarrhea (usually watery but sometimes bloody) and abdominal cramps.