Chinanews.com, August 1st. According to the US Chinese website, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has opened an investigation into the outbreak of E. coli related to cake powder. The incident has caused at least a dozen people to be infected, some of whom have Hospitalized.
The CDC said in a statement that at least 16 people have been infected with E. coli. They are all women, ranging in age from 2 to 73 years old, in 12 states.
According to the CDC, 7 of the people infected by the E. coli outbreak have been hospitalized, and one of them developed kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic disease.
Health officials said that there are currently no reports of deaths related to the outbreak.
According to investigations by state and local health officials, 6 of the 8 infected people reported tasting or eating raw batter made with various brands of cake flour.
The CDC said that given that people may recover without medical care or may not be tested for E. coli, and it usually takes three to four weeks to determine whether an individual is part of an outbreak, the actual number of infections may be higher.
The time span of the reported cases was from February 26 to June 21, and they were found in many states across the country, including Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa, Virginia, etc.
The CDC said this week that everyone should avoid eating raw cake batter, including flour and store-bought cake mix, which may contain E. coli when they are not cooked, which may cause food poisoning if consumed.
According to the CDC, symptoms of E. coli infection may include diarrhea, high fever, vomiting and dehydration.
The CDC issued instructions on the safe handling of raw food, stating that although "flour does not look like raw food", "the bacteria will only be killed when food made with flour is cooked and cooked."
The CDC said that raw flour previously infected more than 80 people in two E. coli outbreaks in 2016 and 2019.