An E. coli outbreak linked to clover sprouts sold by Chicago Indoor Garden and Jimmy John’s has ended after sickening 51 people in 10 states. Three people were hospitalized.
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Public health officials used Whole Genome Sequencing to identify the genetic “fingerprint” of the outbreak strain of E. coli O103. Most of the illnesses occurred in Utah where 34 cases were reported. Other states reporting illnesses were: Florida (1), Idaho (1), Illinois (7), Iowa (3), Missouri (1), New York (1), Texas (1), Virginia (1), Wyoming (1).
The people sickened in this outbreak, who range in age from 1 to 79 years old, reported onset of symptoms on dates ranging from January 6, 2020 to March 15, 2020. Many of them reported eating clover sprouts on sandwiches they purchased from Jimmy John’s sandwich shops before they became ill. Symptoms of an E. coli infection include abdominal cramping and diarrhea that can be bloody.
In addition to the 51 people sickened, health officials found the outbreak strain in clover sprouts in samples of products produced by Chicago Indoor Garden. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to consumers about these products. Three days later, Chicago Indoor issued a recall for products containing clover sprouts.
The FDA found that the same seed lot linked to this outbreak was also linked to the Jimmy John’s clover sprout E. coli outbreak in Iowa in late 2019.
Jimmy John’s Sproutbreak History
This outbreak was the ninth time in 11 years that a Jimmy John’s food poisoning outbreak has been linked to sprouts or other contaminated produce. Just two months before this outbreak, Jimmy John’s was linked to another clover sprout E. coli outbreak that sicked customers in Iowa. The company announced in February that it would no longer serve sprouts.
If you have been sickened by contaminated sprouts served at Jimmy John’s and would like a free consultation with our team of food poisoning lawyers, please fill out the form below, call 1-888-377-8900, or text 612-261-0856.