The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is advising consumers not to eat multiple brands of recalled bagged organic and whole baby carrots supplied by Grimmway Farms. The carrots, which were sold under brand names including 365, Good & Gather, Nature’s Promise, and Trader Joe’s, have been linked to a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121:H19, a type of E. coli bacteria.
Granite Staters can find a full list of recalled products, which were distributed to stores nationwide, on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. While it’s unlikely that the recalled carrots are still on store shelves, consumers may have them in their refrigerators or freezers.
Consumers should not eat or serve these products. The Department encourages Granite Staters to throw the recalled products away and sanitize any surfaces they may have touched.
“Since E. coli bacteria can cause serious illness, it’s best to throw out any potentially contaminated food,” said Iain Watt, Director of the DHHS Division of Public Health Services (DPHS). “Foods that are contaminated may not look, smell, or taste any different, so there’s no way to tell if E. coli is present.”
E. coli is a potentially deadly bacteria that can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration, depending on the strain. Older adults, young children, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of E. coli infection and severe illness.
Anyone who is concerned about E. coli infection or illness should contact their healthcare provider. Granite Staters who are diagnosed with an illness related to E. coli O121:H19 should contact DPHS at 603-271-4496. For the latest information about the recall, please visit the FDA website.