2016 E. coli Outbreak Linked to Alfalfa Sprouts Produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts
Posted March 25, 2016 10:45 AM ET
This outbreak appears to be over; however, sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. We recommend that consumers, restaurants, and other retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from eating sprouts.
- This outbreak appears to be over. Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory officials indicate that alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts of River Falls, Wisconsin were the likely source of this outbreak.
- Eleven people infected with the outbreak strain of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 (STEC O157) were reported from two states: Minnesota (8) and Wisconsin (3).
- Two ill people were hospitalized. No one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, and no deaths were reported.
- Sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. We recommend that consumers, restaurants, and other retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from eating sprouts.
- This outbreak was not related to the multistate outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen infections linked to alfalfa sprouts produced by Sweetwater Farms of Inman, Kansas.
Introduction
CDC collaborated with public health officials in multiple states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 (STEC O157) infections.
Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were part of this outbreak. PulseNet, coordinated by CDC, is the national subtyping network of public health and food regulatory agency laboratories. PulseNet performs DNA fingerprinting on STEC bacteria isolated from ill people by using techniques called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). PulseNet manages a national database of these DNA fingerprints to identify possible outbreaks.
Eleven people infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O157 were reported from two states. The number of ill people identified in each state was as follows: Minnesota (8) and Wisconsin (3).
Illnesses started on dates ranging from January 17, 2016 to February 17, 2016. Ill people ranged in age from 17 years to 84, with a median age of 28. Of ill people, 73% were female. Two ill people were hospitalized. No one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, and no deaths were reported.
Investigation of the Outbreak
Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory officials indicated that alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts of River Falls, Wisconsin were the likely source of this outbreak.
In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the week before they became ill. Of the nine ill people who were interviewed, all nine (100%) reported eating or possibly eating alfalfa sprouts in the week before illness started.
State and local health and regulatory officials performed traceback investigations from eight different locations where ill people ate or bought alfalfa sprouts. These investigations indicated that Jack & The Green Sprouts supplied alfalfa sprouts to all eight locations.
On February 24, 2016, the Minnesota Department of Health issued a press release warning consumers not to eat alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts. On February 25, 2016, Jack & The Green Sprouts, Inc. voluntarily recalled all alfalfa and alfalfa onion sprout products. Sprouts were packaged in a plastic clamshell container with a round, brightly colored label on top that notes the sprout variety. Any recalled sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts still on the market or in consumers’ homes would be past their expiration date.
This outbreak appears to be over; however, sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. We recommend that consumers, restaurants, and other retailers always follow food safety practices to avoid illness from eating sprouts. This outbreak was not related to the multistate outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen infections linked to alfalfa sprouts produced by Sweetwater Farms of Inman, Kansas.
