(Reuters) – One person has died and at least 39 others have been sickened by E. coli infections caused by eating fresh carrots sold by several enormous grocery retailers in 18 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday.
The CDC said in a statement that the infections are linked to whole bagged carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms in California. Walmart (NYSE:)), Objective (NYSE:)), Kroger (NYSE:), Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, among others, sell carrots under various brand names.
The CDC said the carrots still probably won’t end up on store shelves, but they may still be in consumers’ homes and should be thrown away.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Saturday that Grimmway Farms voluntarily recalled the carrots, which were also sent to stores in Canada and Puerto Rico.
The best-before date for the recalled whole carrots was from August 14 to October 23. In the case of the recalled baby carrots, the shelf life was between September 11 and November 12.
Bakersfield, California-based Grimmway said in a Saturday news release that the company is reviewing its growing, harvesting and processing practices and that it is working with suppliers and health authorities on the matter.
According to media reports, the previously family-owned company was sold in 2020 to private equity firm Teays River Investments.