As two ongoing multistate outbreaks linked to alfalfa sprouts unfold, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that the safest way to consume sprouts is to cook them. Sprouts are a known source of food poisoning that have been the source of more than 40 outbreaks over the last 20 years, causing 2,405 illnesses, 171 hospitalizations, and three deaths federal health officials say. Currently there are two outbreaks linked to alfalfa sprouts. One is a Salmonella outbreak linked to sprouts produced by Sweetwater Farms in Kansas that sickened 13 people in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania hospitalizing five of them. The other is an E. coli outbreak linked to sprouts produced by Jack and the Green Sprouts of River Falls, Wis. which has sickened nine people in … [Read more...]
Sprouts Spread E. coli to Jimmy John’s, Pita Pit, Daanen’s in 2014
Washington and Idaho combined public health resources in 2014 to help solve an outbreak that spread E. coli O121 to people who ate clover sprouts at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, the Pita Pit and Daanen's Deli, according to a review of state and federal food poisoning reports. "Raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC of Idaho was the likely source of this outbreak,'' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in its final update on the sprouts E. coli outbreak. By July 31, 2014, 19 people in six states were infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121, including three from Idaho, two from Montana and 11 from Washington state. No deaths were reported, but 44 percent of case patients were hospitalized after … [Read more...]
FDA Tells Sprout Grower in E.coli Outbreak: Stop Using Seed Lot
After an E.coli outbreak was linked to clover sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts in May, the Moyle Springs, Idaho company continued to use the seed lot that produced the contaminated sprouts to make and distribute more sprouts that are likely still one the market, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company has not recalled the sprouts, so the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning consumers not to eat the sprouts. A few days ago, representatives from both agencies met with the owner of the company to discuss the risks associated with the continued use of the seed lot and advocate that it no longer be used. The company has now agreed to stop using the seed lot. According to the FDA, "seeds are considered the most likely … [Read more...]
E. coli Sprout Lawsuit Will Consider Unsanitary Conditions Report
The FDA's Electronic Reading Room contains copies of the actual reports filed by food safety inspectors who recently spent six days inside the production facility at Evergreen Fresh Sprouts LLC of Moyie Springs, Idaho, the company believed by state and federal health officials to be at the center of a sandwich sprout E. coli outbreak in Seattle, Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Jimmy John's, Pita Pit and Daanen's Deli Sprouts were the three restaurant establishments where consumers were infected with the pathogen E. coli O121 and all of those operators suspended sprouts from their menus when authorities warned the public not to eat sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts until further notice. So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 17 case patients sickened … [Read more...]
CDC: 17 in 5 States Now Sick in Sprouts E. coli O121 Outbreak
The E. coli outbreak linked contaminated clover sprouts now includes 17 people people in five states, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). AT least seven people have been hospitalized. The outbreak which was first included 10 cases in Washington and Idaho now includes 10 cases in Washington, three cases in Idaho, two cases in Montana, and 1 case in Michigan. Some of the case patients reported eating sandwiches from Jimmy John's and other sandwich shops before becoming ill. Health investigators have tracked the source of the outbreak to Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC in Idaho, which has not issued a recall. Contaminated sprouts may still be on the market, and consumers should not purchase these sprouts, the CDC warns. The U.S. … [Read more...]
