Toss It Now! E. coli Outbreak Causes Huge Minnesota Carrot Recall

If you recently bought organic baby carrots from your local Minnesota grocery store, you need to get rid of them ASAP or you'll be severely sick.

Multiple news outlets report a serious E. coli outbreak in organic baby carrots. This alert affects 18 states including Minnesota. The carrots that are being recalled are organic whole-bagged carrots and baby carrots that Grimmway Farms sells.

Get our free mobile app

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains most E. coli cases broke between September 6 and October 28 across 18 states, with Washington, Minnesota, and New York reporting the highest number of cases. Other states affected by this E. coli outbreak include Oregon, California, Missouri, Michigan, Colorado, and Wyoming. 39 people have reported getting sick and one person has died.

Grimmway Farms is one of the world's biggest producers of carrots. The company did initiate this "voluntary recall of multiple sizes and brands of bagged organic whole and baby carrots." There's an entire list of carrots being recalled and the official list can be found here. If you have any carrots on the recall list, do not eat them! Throw them away immediately.

At the time of this post, the CDC is working to "determine the source of contamination and whether additional products are affected."

What happens if you are infected with E.coli? 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of E.coli include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. Symptoms begin anywhere from a few days after consuming contaminated food or up to nine days later.

The Mayo Clinic explains there isn't a set treatment plan for E.coli. If you do have E.coli, here's what you should do:

• Drink plenty of fluids
• Don't take anti-diarrheal medication
• Rest and a lot of it

Anyone with symptoms that last longer than a few days should contact their doctor.