Foodservice
(UPDATED COVERAGE, Feb. 27) After dropping sprouts from its menu permanently, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches remained largely silent for a week on an E. coli outbreak linked to the commodity and the company.
The Champaign, Ill.-based chain had not directly mentioned the outbreak as of Feb. 23, but complained of the actions of regulators and said inconsistency in its supply led to the move.
Fourteen people in six Midwest states were sickened by E. coli O26, tied to clover sprouts eaten at Jimmy John’s. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced preliminary findings Feb. 15. Two were hospitalized; none died.
Jimmy John’s founder Jimmy John Liautaud made no public statement in the week after the CDC notice. He announced the menu change in an e-mail to franchisees.
“It said there were just inconsistencies in the quality from the supplier,” said Will Aubuchon, owner of a Kirksville, Mo., outlet. “Jimmy has said that he’s hard at work trying to find a new vegetable to replace it.”
On the company’s Facebook page, Liautaud said snow pea shoots are being trialed at a Champaign outlet as a possible replacement. It was one of many comments he apparently posted there.
“The supplies were too inconsistent,” he said several times, responding to questions about clover sprouts.
He also claimed the government and the CDC are “bullying” the sandwich company.
Courtesy Jimmy John's Gourmet SandwichesJimmy John's founder Jimmy John Liautaud and a package of pea shoots. “Anyway, gov is no longer here to serve us we are here to serve them and those who vote for them. Onward and upward! Peace, jimmy,” he posted.
“Peace out folks, the gov can push me down but they aint gonna push me out, i’m not a quitter i’m a doer, hold tight, I’ll keep you posted,” another post said.
It was the fifth sprout outbreak linked to Jimmy John’s since 2008, according to Seattle attorney Bill Marler.
Marler Clark LLP and other attorneys filed a lawsuit Feb. 21 in Des Moines, Iowa, on behalf of Heather Tuttle, 27. She became ill after eating a Turkey Tom with sprouts at Jimmy John’s in West Des Moines on Jan. 3, according to the suit.
“It’s a positive sign that Jimmy John’s appears to be reconsidering serving sprouts,” Marler said. “Sprouts have a long history of problems. A lot of grocery stores, Costco and some smaller ones, do not sell them.”
The Food and Drug Administration has yet to name the sprout supplier. The agency did identify a common seed lot used by two facilities that both produced produce clover sprouts for outlets in the affected areas. Tests of the lot are ongoing.
According to the FDA, the seed supplier, distributors and sprouting facilities pulled items connected with the lot from the supply chain.
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Comments (1)
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Report AbuseJJ is now switching to pea "shoots" instead of sprouts. >>rolls eyes<<