As of April 30^th, there have been 12 illnesses with 7 hospitalizations from E. coli linked to organic walnuts sold in bulk bins. Although the illnesses have been limited to California and Washington so far, contaminated walnuts from Gibson Inc. were distributed to natural food and co-op stores in 19 states (AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, LA, MT, NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA and WY). The FDA published a complete list of about 300 stores that received contaminated walnuts at FDA.gov.

Gibson Inc. organic whole and half walnuts have been recalled due to E. coli contamination. These walnuts are sold mostly in bulk bins at food co-ops or natural food stores such as Whole Foods. Some of these walnuts may have been packed by stores in clamshells or bags.

E. coli is a type of bacteria that can cause severe stomach cramping, diarrhea (often bloody), vomiting, sometimes a fever and kidney failure in rare cases. Symptoms usually appear 3-4 days after eating contaminated food or water. Most infections are mild and most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days, but some cases can be life-threatening. People who have these symptoms and think they may have eaten Gibson organic walnut halves should contact their healthcare provider.

Gibson Inc. organic whole and half walnuts that were bought from these stores should be discarded, and any containers they were stored in should be washed thoroughly with hot water and soap. The recalled walnuts are from lot codes 3325-043 and 3341-501, with expiration dates of 5/21/25, and 6/07/25.

The FDA is still working with Gibson Inc. to determine if any other lot numbers were affected and if the walnuts were shipped to any other states. Information will be updated at FDA.gov as it becomes available.