Check your fridge: Multiple brands of organic carrots are being recalled after being linked epidemic in several countriesOpens a new window of Escherichia coli (E. coli) which has resulted in one death and 15 hospitalizations so far.

Pregnant women are especially vulnerable to developing foodborne illnesses, in part because the body suppresses the immune system to better protect the growing baby, she says Amesh Adalja, MDOpens a new window., a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

While many strains While E. coli are relatively harmless, this outbreak is caused by a strain of E. coli that produces Shiga toxin, which binds to cells in your body and releases harmful toxins, leading to potentially serious illness, according to Cleveland ClinicOpens a new window.

Here are the products that may be contaminated with E. coli – if any of them are in your fridge, throw them away immediately.

Organic carrot recall

The The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for issuing food recalls, listed these carrot productsOpens a new window as potentially contaminated E. coli.

Organic whole carrots

• 365 (Bag sizes: 1 pound (lb), 2 lb, 5 lb)
• Bunny Luv (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb, 25 lb)
• Cal-Organic (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 6 lb, 10 lb, 25 lb)
• Compliments (2 lb)
• Full Circle (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb)
• Good and expensive (2 lb)
• GreenWise (1 lb, 25 lb)
• Marketside (2 lb)
• Nature’s Promise (1 lb, 5 lb)
• O-Organic (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb)
• President’s Choice (2 lb)
• The Simple Truth (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb)
• Trader Joe’s (1 lb)
• Wegmans (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb)
• Healthy Pantry (1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb)

The organic whole carrots do not have a best-before date printed on the bag, but they were all available for purchase in stores from August 14 to October 23, 2024. Although these products should no longer be available for purchase, they may still be in refrigerators or people’s freezers.

Organic baby (sliced ​​and peeled) carrots

• 365 (12 ounces (oz) 1 (lb), 2 lb) Best if used by: September 11, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• Bunny Luv (1lb, 2lb, 3lb, 5lb) Best By: September 11, 2024 – November 22, 2024
• Cal-Organic (12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb, 2 pkg/2 lb) Best By: September 11, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• Compliments (1 lb) Best if used: September 14, 2024 – October 24, 2024
• Full Circle (1 lb) Best if used: September 14, 2024 – October 24, 2024
• Good & Gather (12 oz, 1 lb) Best if used by: September 14, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• GreenWise (1 lb) Best By: September 11, 2024 – October 26, 2024
• Marketside (12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb) Best By: September 11, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• Nature’s Promise (1 lb) Best By: September 13, 2024 – October 25, 2024
• O-Organics (12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb) Best By: September 11, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• President’s Choice (1 lb, 2 lb) Best If Used: September 11, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• The Simple Truth (1 lb, 2 lb) Best By: September 14, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• Sprouts (1 lb, 2 lb) Best if used: September 13, 2024 – November 4, 2024
• Trader Joe’s (1 lb) Best By: September 13, 2024 – November 4, 2024
• Wegmans (12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb) Best By: September 14, 2024 – November 2, 2024
• Wholesome Pantry (1 lb, 2 lb) Best if used: September 16, 2024 – November 7, 2024

All organic baby carrots have a best before date between September 11, 2024 and November 12, 2024. They should no longer be available for purchase in stores. The company, Grimmway Farms, is voluntarily recalling products after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that they may have been linked to E. coli outbreak, according to the FDAOpens a new window.

If you have recently purchased any of these products, do not eat or use them – throw them away and disinfect any surfaces or surfaces they have touched.

Symptoms of E. coli

While the majority E. coli bacteria are harmless, some strains – including Shiga – produce toxins The E. coli strain linked to the latest outbreak of foodborne illnessOpens a new window in organic carrots — can cause symptoms such asOpens a new window:

• Diarrhea, which can vary from mild and watery to severe and bloody
• Abdominal cramps, which can be severe
• Vomiting
• Low temperature (rare)

“In people who are infected with this strain of E. coli, it usually causes bloody diarrhea, usually after about two or three days of incubation,” he says. Dean Winslow, MDOpens a new window., professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford Health Care. “Very rarely do people with this infection get a fever.”

This is in contrast to other foodborne diseases such as Campylobacter infectionOpens a new windowwhich can include bloody diarrhea and fever, he says.

How could E. coli affect me and my baby?

When you’re pregnant, your body suppresses your immune system – so you’re already at a higher risk of getting sick from foodborne illness, says Dr. Adalja.

That said, this a special strain of E. coliOpens a new window it’s usually confined to the intestines and therefore doesn’t cross into the bloodstream or placenta to infect the fetus, says Dr. Winslow. Babies born to mothers who had Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli are also not known to have any health complications at birth, he says.

“However, if the mother is critically ill, sometimes it will (cause) premature birth,” he says. In addition, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can lead to a potentially fatal medical condition called hemolytic uremia syndromeOpens a new window (HUS), according to CDCOpens a new windowwhich can then lead to kidney failure in the mother which can endanger the health of the pregnancy.

“If the mother is sick, it could potentially have a negative effect on the baby,” he says.

Some symptoms of HUS include: urinating less often or not at all; loss of pink color in the cheeks and inside of the lower eyelids, unexplained bruising or small red spots on the skin; blood in the urine, irritability and lethargy.

How to prevent infection

Since E. coli bacteria can live in the intestines of animals, you’re most likely to get an E. coli infection if you eat undercooked meat, he says Janet BufferOpens a new windowsenior institute manager of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition at George Washington University in Washington, DC

But runoff from cattle farms, for example, can also contaminate fields where produce is grown, he says Mayo ClinicOpens a new windowso people can also develop an infection after eating foods like vegetables. If you’re handling raw produce, wash it well first, which can help get rid of any bacteria in the food.

Cooking your vegetables at 135 degrees Fahrenheit (F) can also help kill bacteria, Buffer says.

You should also check that the meat has reached a safe minimum temperatureOpens a new window (at least 160 degrees F for ground meats, such as beef; 165 degrees F for chicken and turkey; and 145 degrees F for beef, pork, veal, and lamb steaks.

People with weakened immune systems may also want to skip pre-washed produce, Buffer says, in part because they’re at a slightly higher risk of harboring harmful bacteria.

“When you start processing food, you increase the possibility of contamination,” she says. “And when you cut produce—like lettuce or carrots—bacteria are attracted to that area (as opposed to) the rougher skin on the outside.”

What’s more, prepackaged products, such as salads, often contain wetter environments, which are more hospitable to bacteria, she says. “You’re allowing time for the bacteria to grow to an unsafe level,” she says.

While “there are (safeguards) in processing plants,” she continues, “nothing is ever 100% guaranteed.”

What to do if these products are in your home

If you recently purchased organic carrots that were part of a food recall, either throw them away or return them to the store for a refund. (You might be better off just tossing them, though, since stores aren’t likely to want them back, says Dr. Winslow.)

Then, use soap and water to wipe down your vegetable drawer or the area of ​​the fridge where they were stored, as well as any surfaces that may have touched the food, Buffer says. “If there were other foods that could have been exposed to the carrot, I would have played it safe and thrown it away,” she says.

If you have already eaten a carrot or have symptoms, call your doctor or go to the emergency room for treatment. There is no preventative medicine you can take for this type E. coli infection, says dr. Winslow – and actually, taking antibiotics can cause more harm, because it can increase the risk of HUS – but the health care team can make sure you stay hydrated and monitor your symptoms.