Jimmy John’s E. coli “Sproutbreak” link is Chicago Indoor Garden

Jimmy John’s LLC reported that all of its restaurants stopped serving clover sprouts on February 24, 2020. Investigators worked to trace the source of the clover sprouts served at the Jimmy John’s restaurants where sick people ate, and to determine whether other restaurants or retailers received the same clover sprouts.

FDA is now recommending that consumers not eat the following sprout-containing items from Chicago Indoor Garden, Chicago, IL, with Best By dates between December 1, 2019 and March 12, 2020: red clover (with and without non-GMO labels), sprout salad, mixed greens, and spring salad. Labels of the products are below.

The FDA’s analysis of a sample of this firm’s product identified the presence of E. coli O103. Whole Genome Sequencing of this bacteria showed that it matches the outbreak strain.

Generally, it is recommended that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind.

FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners, are investigating an outbreak of 14 illnesses caused by E. coli O103 in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Utah likely linked to clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s.

As the outbreak investigation progresses, the FDA will continue in its traceback investigation to determine where implicated sprouts have been distributed and will continue monitoring for additional illnesses associated with this outbreak.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.