General Mills Recalls Gold Medal All Purpose Flour After Potential Salmonella Contamination

Courtney Kassel
·2 min read

Check your pantry—four different varieties of flour are recalled.

<p>Gold Medal/Allrecipes</p>

Gold Medal/Allrecipes

On Friday, April 28, General Mills announced a national recall of four varieties bags of its brand Gold Medal's Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour. The recall was initiated in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after a 5-pound bag was found to be potentially contaminated with Salmonella Infantis during a random sampling.

The recall affects both varieties of unbleached and bleached all purpose flour from the brand Gold Medal, which is owned by General Mills. The affected products were available in 2-, 5- and 10-pound bags, and bear the "better if used by" dates 3/27/2024 or 3/28/2024.

To verify if the flour you have is part of the recall check the bar code for the following UPC number:

  • Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose 5LB Flour UPC: 000-16000-19610

  • Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose 10LB Flour UPC: 000-16000-19580

  • Gold Medal Bleached All Purpose 2LB Flour UPC: 000-16000-10710

  • Gold Medal Bleached All Purpose 5LB Flour UPC: 000-16000-10610

All other types and lots of Gold Medal flour are not affected by this recall.

If you believe you have a product that's subject to recall do not use it. The FDA recommends you dispose of the product immediately, then contact General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103.

Salmonella is the most common type of bacteria that causes food poisoning, with symptoms typically starting six hours to six days after consuming contaminated food. Symptoms of a salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.

This is not the first time salmonella has been linked back to raw flour recently. Just last month, the CDC was investigating an outbreak of salmonella in flour that resulted in 12 reported illnesses. As of now, there is no confirmed link between that outbreak and this recall.

This is a good reminder that raw cookie dough—as delicious as it may be—carries a big health risk, especially to those little ones. Flour is not a "ready-to-eat" food and must be heated to at least 145 degrees F (like in this edible cookie dough recipe) in order to rule out risk of bacteria like salmonella.