Whole Foods Recalls Ginger Bread House For Possible Bacteria Contamination

Flickr User Andrew Kelsall

​If you think it's safe to chow down on that stale gingerbread house you've been eyeing for the past month, you may want to just let it foreclose. On Christmas Eve, Whole Foods Market recalled the houses made by Rolf's Patisserie, a Chicago-area bakery and one of its suppliers of gingerbread houses. Here's why: The gingerbread houses sold by the store in 23 states reportedly may contain an unwelcome house guest in staphylococcus aureaus bacteria.

This bah hum bug will bring the gift of nausea, cramps and vomiting, which usually hits within a few hours of consumption. Though it doesn't usually last more than a couple of days, you probably want to save your vomiting for New Years, when it's the result of something fun, like excessive partying, not noshing on a week's-old Christmas decoration.

The recall affects all gingerbread houses sold after November 1, 2010, in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.