Sprouts Strike Again as Investigators Swarm Jimmy Johns E. coli O26 Outbreak
The first consumer warning about sprouts was issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1997. By mid-1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had advised all Americans to be aware of the risks associated with eating raw sprouts, which grow in conditions ripe for the clustering of bacteria. Here we are two decades later and the same two agencies are once again at the forefront of an outbreak of foodborne illness associated with sprouts.
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Jimmy Johns E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 12 people in five states, including five in Iowa and three in Missouri. Kansas, Arkansas and Wisconsin are the three other states that have patients confirmed to be infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O26. The CDC's initial report on the outbreak says all case-patients so far are women.
"Preliminary results indicate eating raw clover sprouts at Jimmy John's restaurants is the likely cause of this outbreak,'' the CDC report said. FDA is still conducting a traceback investigation to learn more about the origin of the contamination, but it has identified a common lot of clover seeds used to grow the sprouts served at Jimmy John's. Investigators are checking to see if other locations may have sold clover sprouts grown from the same seed lot.
Interviews by food investigators found that outbreak victims reported eating at nine different locations of Jimmy John's restaurants in 4 states in the week before becoming ill. So far there have been a couple of hospitalizations, but no deaths.
Individuals from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas or Wisconsin who have been sickened as part of this outbreak may have questions about a potential Jimmy Johns E. coli lawsuit. National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., provides free case consultations, or call the firm directly at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Over the years we have collected tens of millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning while also working to prevent the spread of human pathogens in our food supply.
