For an update to this story, see “Chicago Indoor Garden recalls red clover sprouts products.”
The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers against eating several sprouts products from Chicago Indoor Garden after testing linked it to an earlier outbreak of E. coli.
The sprouts from the Chicago-based grower are clover (with and without non-GMO labels), Sprout Salad, Mixed Greens and Spring Salad.
The FDA posted its recommendation March 13, but the company has not recalled any products and the FDA did not increase the number of people who became ill, indicating that Chicago Indoor Garden products might not been linked to linked to the 14 cases. The FDA reported there were 14 cases on Feb. 26.
The FDA reported a sample of the company’s product — it did not specify which one — tested positive for the same E. coli strain in the outbreak. Whole genome sequencing made the match, according to the FDA.
Cases in the outbreak are in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Utah, and the FDA has identified clover sprouts as the source.
The FDA on Feb. 26 reported that epidemiologic evidence indicates that clover sprouts from Jimmy John’s restaurants are the “likely source of this outbreak.” On Feb. 21, the FDA sent a warning letter to the sandwich restaurant company about repeated outbreaks linked to the company in recent years — four from sprouts and one from cucumbers.
The current outbreak is not related to the other five, according to the FDA. The agency did not say if Chicago Indoor Garden is a Jimmy John’s supplier.
As it has in the past, Jimmy John’s has removed sprouts from menus.
Related stories:
