Sprouts have been suspected to be the cause of 20 Salmonella infections in five states across the U.S., while an earlier Salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupes is probably over, according to federal officials.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that sprouts labeled “Evergreen Produce” are suspected as the cause of Salmonella entertidis infections in Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Washington. The agency said one patient was hospitalized.
These sprouts were produced by Evergreen Produce in Moyie Springs, Idaho, in the northern part of the state. The FDA said people who have alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts in bags labeled “Evergreen Produce” or “Evergreen Produce Inc.” should discard them in sealed bags. The alfalfa sprouts are packaged in 4-ounce, 16-ounce, 1-pound, and 5-pound bags, and the spicy sprouts are sold in 4-ounce and 1-pound bags, the FDA said.
Nadine Scharf, who identified herself as the co-owner of the company, said Monday that the company has stopped producing the alfalfa and spicy sprouts but is not planning to recall them from store shelves. Scharf said the FDA has asked her to recall the sprouts but that she doesn't believe the agency has enough evidence to link the illnesses to her products. Most of the sprouts have probably been consumed anyway, she said. The FDA “inspected every nook and cranny, every part of our plant, and that was a week ago and they haven't come up with anything yet,”' Scharf said. “We'll see. Maybe they will. Who knows?” she said. Scharf said she thinks the publicity over the European outbreak is causing the agency to be more vigilant. “Recalling the sprouts that are out there would be like saying I am guilty of having bacterially contaminated sprouts, and as of today they haven't documented the fact that any of our sprouts have bacteria in them,” she said.
The agency said children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems should not eat raw sprouts, and consumers in general should cook sprouts thoroughly. Since 1996 at least 30 illness outbreaks have been linked to various kinds of raw and lightly cooked sprouts and most of them involving Salmonella or Escherichia coli, the FDA said. Salmonella infection is the most common U.S. food borne illness. It is linked to contaminated meats, and processed foods, and continues to strike the country as often as it did 15 years ago. Last year, it caused nearly 2,300 hospitalizations and 29 deaths. One outbreak led to a recall of nearly half a billion eggs.
The earlier outbreak tied to cantaloupe involved 21 cases of Salmonella Panama in 11 states, most of them in the West. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Jun 23 that the outbreak appeared to be over, as there had been no new case reports since Apr 22.
Eagle Produce LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz., announced a limited recall of cantaloupes shipped to upstate New York in late May because of potential Salmonella contamination, according to a recall notice posted by the FDA on Jun 24. The recall involves 1,760 cartons of cantaloupe that were sold at Sam's Club stores in Johnstown, N.Y., and Pottsville, Pa., between Jun 2 and 17, the notice said. The problem was detected in routine testing done by New York agriculture officials on behalf of the US Department of Agriculture. No illnesses were mentioned.
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