One dead, dozens hospitalized after E. coli outbreak in organic carrots

One person has died after a newly reported E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots infected 39 people across 18 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Sunday.

Only one case has been reported in Colorado so far, but CDC officials said the true number of infections could be much higher because many people recover without medical care and aren’t tested for the disease.

The E. coli outbreak was linked to organic bagged baby and whole carrots from Grimmway Farms on Saturday, CDC officials said Sunday. The company has recalled multiple sizes and brands of the product.

CDC officials said the infected carrots likely aren’t still on store shelves, but could still be in consumer homes.

“The implicated farms are out of production, and none of the recalled carrots have tested positive for E. coli,” farm officials said in a company statement.

Grimmway Farms notified customers who received the recalled product directly from the company of the potential outbreak and requested that those customers notify distributors of the recalled products, according to the statement.

“We take our role in ensuring the safety and quality of our products seriously,” Grimmway Farms president and CEO Jeff Huckaby stated. “… We are conducting a thorough review of our growing, harvest and processing practices. Our food safety team is working with our suppliers and health authorities.”

The recalled baby carrots’ best-by dates ranged from Sept. 11 to Nov. 12 and the recalled whole carrots were available for purchase between Aug. 14 and Oct. 23, according to the CDC news release.

CDC officials said 15 people have been hospitalized so far and one person has died, but they did not identify the victim or the states with more serious cases.

In addition to Colorado, E. coli cases have been reported in Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming, Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to CDC data.

Washington has documented the most cases with eight infections, followed closely by Minnesota and New York with five.

People over 65 and children younger than five are at higher risk of severe illness from E. coli, a type of bacteria that causes vomiting, severe stomach cramps and diarrhea, often with blood. Most people recover without treatment, but some develop severe dehydration or kidney damage.

Symptoms typically appear three to four days after eating contaminated food but can take up to 10 days to develop.