COLUMBIA, S.C. — Grimmway Farms, a California-based producer, has issued a major recall of its organic carrots due to a possible E. coli outbreak. According to the CDC, dozens of people have fallen ill across 18 states, including two cases in South Carolina. One person has died, and at least 15 others have been hospitalized.
"We're talking about these carrots, it's a contaminated product that you, if you have it in your fridge, you need to throw it away, whether it's opened or not opened, you need to throw it away and don’t eat it, because of the risk of E. coli,” said Martha Buchanan, Director of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control.
E. coli infections can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and low-grade fever.
“If you’ve eaten the product and it’s been a week, and you’re not sick, you’re good,” Buchanan said. "You don't need to worry, but throw the carrots away. Don’t be worried, but go ahead and throw those carrots away.”
Buchanan explained how contamination like this can occur.
“There’s a couple of different theories on how this kinda stuff happens. If the product is grown where they may have used fertilizer that had a feces component to it and wasn’t properly processed, we can find it can get into the carrot or spinach or whatever and you can’t wash it off,” Buchanan said.
To reduce the risk of infection, Buchanan recommended washing and peeling produce thoroughly and cooking meats to their proper temperatures.
The recalled carrots were sold under multiple brand names in grocery stores nationwide, including Walmart, Publix, Target, and Whole Foods. Consumers are advised to check their refrigerators and dispose of any affected products immediately.