Pillsbury flour recalled for Salmonella fears

Chicago-based Hometown Food Company has issued a voluntary recall of Pillsbury flour that could be contaminated with Salmonella, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced.

More than 12,000 cases of Pillsbury flour were sold through a limited number of retailers, including Publix and Winn-Dixie. The lot codes on the recalled 5-pound bags of unbleached all-purpose flour are 8292 and 8293. All bags have a “best if used by” date of April 19, 2020, and UPC code 0 5150022241 6.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reminded consumers of the dangers of eating raw dough when baking. “Flour, regardless of brand, can contain bacteria that cause disease,” the agency said on Twitter.

Pillsbury flour:
No illnesses – yet

A Winn-Dixie spokesperson told CNN that the company had not received any “reports of illnesses associated with this recall.”

Publix urged customers against consuming the affected flour, and said in a statement, “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase for a refund.” A Publix spokesperson said that no other Pillsbury products have been affected by the recall and are safe for consumption.

Pillsbury flour:
Salmonellosis symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that approximately 1.2 million Americans are sickened each year with salmonellosis, the infection caused by Salmonella. About 23,000 of those people will be hospitalized because of their infection, and 450 of them will die because of it.

Salmonellosis can develop anywhere from 12 hours to 72 hours after consumption of food contaminated with Salmonella. As with most types of foodborne illnesses, symptoms can include:

• abdominal cramps
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• fever
• chills.

Symptoms can last as long as a week, and most people recover without treatment. Sometimes, however, diarrhea is so severe that dehydration occurs, and then hospitalization is necessary.

Pillsbury flour:
High-risk demographics

People at the greatest risk of developing salmonellosis include young children, senior citizens, and anyone with a compromised immune system, such as pregnant women or anyone with a disease of the intestinal tract, like inflammatory bowel disease.

Healthy adults are more susceptible to a Salmonella infection it they take an antacid, which lowers the stomach’s acidity, or an antibiotic, which reduces the number of Salmonella-killing bacteria in the intestines.

More than 12,000 cases of Pillsbury unbleached all-purpose flour were recalled because of their potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Pillsbury flour:
Salmonella sources

Salmonella bacteria can be found in many food sources: raw meat, undercooked or improperly stored seafood and poultry, raw eggs, fresh produce, even spices, nuts, and supplements.

“We should thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables to remove any contaminating microorganisms,” Sarah Fankhauser, an assistant professor of biology at Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia, told the LiveScience website for a 2018 article. “However, washing will never get rid of 100 percent of bacteria on a fruit or vegetable, and this is problematic if the fruit/vegetable has been contaminated by particularly dangerous bacteria, such as Salmonella.”

Pillsbury flour:
Hand washing important

Foods also can become contaminated when people handle them improperly. That is, a person fails to thoroughly wash their hands after touching a contaminated surface, using the toilet, or changing a diaper.

The temperature of the water used when washing hands makes a difference. “Our bodies are 98 degrees (Fahrenheit), which is an optimal temperature for Salmonella,” Fankhauser said. “So warm water will not kill Salmonella.”

Because of that, it’s best to wash hands with soap and the hottest water possible.