The seed supplier for a sprout growing company involved in an outbreak of E. coli and Salmonella has agreed to conduct a recall.
The Food and Drug Administration announced the recall on Sept. 15, but did not name the seed supplier. The agency also did not provide any identifying information about the seeds, such as lot numbers. The seed supplier initially refused to conduct a recall.
The supplier sold seeds to Everything Sprouts LLC. The seed lot was also sold directly to other sprout growers and wholesale distributors in Puerto Rico and the U.S. It was also shipped internationally to Canada, Mexico, Tahiti, and Venezuela.
Products from Everything Sprouts have been linked to an outbreak of E. coli and Salmonella infections. So far, 55 patients in 15 states have been identified. Four of the patients have required hospitalization, but no deaths have been reported.
Some people were infected with more than one outbreak strain. Forty-six people were infected with E. coli, seven people were infected with Salmonella, and two people were infected with both Salmonella and E. coli.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from May 31 to Aug. 8, but additional patients could be identified because of the lag time of when a patient becomes ill and when they are added to the national toll. Also, there are likely many more sick people who have not been identified. This is because some people do not seek medical attention and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella or E. coli. The CDC estimates that for every patient identified in a Salmonella outbreak, 29 go undetected. For E. coli outbreaks the multiplier is 26.
The patients in the outbreak range in age from 12 to 94 years old, with a median age of 34 years. State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 34 people interviewed, 26 reported eating alfalfa sprouts.
Whole genome sequencing showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples are closely related genetically. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.
Epidemiologic and traceback evidence show that alfalfa sprouts grown by Everything Sprouts LLC of Minneapolis, MN, is one of the sources of illnesses in this outbreak. While alfalfa sprouts grown by Everything Sprouts LLC are a source of illnesses in this outbreak, these sprouts do not explain all the illnesses.
The FDA’s traceback investigation has identified at least one additional sprout grower who received and used the same lot of alfalfa sprout seeds under investigation in this outbreak from a common seed supplier. The FDA has not named the sprout grower.
Everything Sprouts recalled three of its products in August. The recalled sprouts are past their expiration dates and should no longer be available for sale.