FDA warns Jimmy John's and Sprouts Unlimited after outbreak
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a warning letter issued to Jimmy John’s Franchise LLC for engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers. The FDA also posted a warning letter to Sprouts Unlimited Wholesale Foods for supplying sprouts to Jimmy John’s which sickened 22 people in November and December 2019.
The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local partners, have collaboratively investigated several outbreaks linked to Jimmy John’s restaurants. The warning letter lays out evidence from five outbreaks, including the most recent outbreak in the state of Iowa during November and December 2019, of human infections with Escherichia coli O103, a Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC).