Pillsbury products recalled over contamination with deadly bacteria after multiple people are hospitalized

Multiple people have been hospitalized after eating Pillsbury products suspected of being contaminated with E.coli. 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said this week that 20 people have been sickened and four have been hospitalized after the E.coli outbreak, which has been linked to Pillsbury brand Pizza Pops. 

Those sickened range in age from one to 87 years old and live in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick.

A recall was announced over the weekend that includes Pillsbury Pizza Pops pepperoni and bacon pizza snacks sold in 760g and 2.85kg packages. 

The best-before dates are June 9 and 10, 2026. 

The recall also applies to Pizza Pops Supremo Extreme pepperoni and bacon snacks in 3kg boxes with best-before dates of June 10 and 12, 2026. 

Another product recalled is Pizza Pops Frank’s RedHot pepperoni and bacon sold in 380g packages with a best-before date of June 14, 2026.

The CFIA said the products may be contaminated with E.coli O26, a strain of the bacteria that can cause severe illness and kidney damage. 

E.coli O26 causes nausea, vomiting, watery and bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and potentially hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). 

HUS is a life-threatening kidney condition that causes the organs to fail. 

Canadian health authorities are urging people to not consume, serve or sell the recalled products.

They should be thrown out or returned to the place of purchase for a refund. 

General Mills, which owns Pillsbury, said in a statement that it is a voluntary recall, and other Pillsbury Pizza Pops products are not affected. 

A recall for these products has not been issued in the US and no illnesses have been reported among Americans. 

However, US food safety authorities have issued several recalls of their own this month, including one for contamination with the deadly bacteria listeria.

Last week, Boss Dairy Farms recalled one lot of its Charlevoix Cheese Company 8oz Mild Cheddar Cheese because it has the potential to be contaminated with listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria.

Healthy people may suffer only short-term mild symptoms from listeria, including fever, headaches, nausea and diarrhea.

However, immunocompromised people, older people or pregnant women could experience life-threatening illness, still birth and miscarriage.

The recalled cheese comes in an 8oz block in clear plastic packaging with the UPC 850056642057.

It is marked on the back with lot number 13220025 and has a best by date of October 20, 2026.

It is not known how the cheese was exposed to listeria, but the potential contamination was revealed after routine testing by the company.

The FDA is urging people who bought the cheese to ‘destroy’ it or return it to the store for a full refund.