The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Justice have blocked the sale of Henry’s Farm bean sprouts which have been recalled several times since 2012 for Listeria. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered a consent decree of permanent injunction between the United States and Henry’s … Read more
A Listeria recall for Good Seed brand bean sprouts is the latest example of the inherent risk associated with bean sprouts. Public health officials say sprouts pose a unique food safety risk because the conditions required to grow them are also perfect for growing bacteria. The recalled Good Seed sprouts were sold in Virginia, Maryland, … Read more
U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel for the Northern District of Illinois signed a consent decree of permanent injunction against Wholesome Soy Products and their owners. The owners, Paul and Julia Trinh, signed the document on April 5, 2015. The decree prevents them from distributing adulterated mung bean and soybean sprouts. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney … Read more
In the wake of a deadly Listeria outbreak, the federal government has filed a lawsuit against Wholesome Soy Products Inc. The suit, filed April 3 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, seeks to enjoin Wholesome Soy from distributing food in the future. Wholesome Soy products killed two people and sickened three others in … Read more
The Wholesome Soy bean sprout Listeria outbreak in 2014 has a similar story to the first reported Listeria bean sprout outbreak in 2008. Both were discovered by routine testing. The 2008 outbreak included 20 cases reported between March 2008 and March 2009. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) tests showed all 20 patients were sickened by … Read more
This post was updated January 29. Did Listeria in Wholesome Soy bean sprouts kill two people or three? It depends on which federal agency’s report you read. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its final report on the outbreak January 27 saying five people had been sickened and two of then died. Later … Read more
The Wholesome Soy Listeria outbreak has ended after sickening five people in Michigan and Illinois, killing two of them. The Chicago-based company is longer producing sprouts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s final report on the outbreak, issued today. Calls to the company were not answered. Health officials used whole genome sequencing … Read more
Food safety shortcomings at Wholesome Soy Products Inc. included employee practices that allowed for potential contamination in various ways, according to an FDA inspection report completed one month ago. The report, obtained by Food Poisoning Bulletin, was made in the wake of an Illinois outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes associated with mung bean sprouts. The outbreak, … Read more
It’s been 15 years since a United States National Advisory Committee issued a special report on the problem of pathogen contamination in commercially grown sprouts and the associated outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria that have become a chronic foodborne illness risk for consumers. Based on a pair of multi-state food poisoning investigations so … Read more