CDC: E. coli Outbreak at Major Carrot Supplier Leads to 1 Death, Dozens of Infections

One person has died and dozens more have been infected across several states after eating carrots contaminated with E. coli, health officials said.

A notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the Bakersfield, California, based carrot grower, Grimmway Farms, recalled multiple sizes and brands of bagged organic baby and whole carrots on Saturday. 

The agency reported that 39 people have been infected and 15 were hospitalized across 18 states, with the majority in New York, Minnesota, Washington, California, and Oregon.

The single fatality was in California.

Grimmway, one of the world’s largest producers of carrots, provided the recalled vegetables to Trader Joe’s, Wegmans, Whole Foods’ 365 brand, Albertson’s O-Organic brand, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Target’s Good & Gather brand, Publix’s GreenWise brand, Walmart’s Marketside brand, Giant’s Nature’s Promise brand, President’s Choice, Raley’s, Kroger’s Simple Truth brand, and Sprouts.

The recalled baby carrots have best-if-used-by dates ranging from 9/11/2024 to 11/12/2024, and the whole carrots were on store shelves from approximately 8/14/2024 through 10/23/2024, but did not have best-if-used-by dates.

“These products are likely no longer in stores for sale but may still be in your home,” the CDC said.

“The true number of sick people is likely much higher than the number reported,” it added. “This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working with Grimmway Farms to determine the source of contamination and whether other products have been contaminated.