FDA accuses Jimmy John’s of repeatedly getting and selling ‘adulterated’ fresh produce
FDA warning letters excoriated sandwich chain Jimmy John’s for serving “adulterated” produce, and Sprouts Unlimited for supplying Jimmy John’s with clover sprouts that had “an added poisonous or deleterious substance.”
The warning letters were sent Friday and posted publicly Tuesday. Jimmy John’s has had four E. coli outbreaks and one salmonella outbreak over the last seven years, the most recent an E. coli outbreak in November and December.
After investigating the outbreaks, the FDA wrote to Jimmy John’s, “The evidence demonstrates that your corporation, through your franchised Jimmy John’s restaurants, engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers.”
In a Tuesday afternoon email to the Miami Herald, Jimmy John’s said, “Jimmy John’s initiated a systemwide destruction order of sprouts from all Jimmy John’s restaurants. This removal was out of an abundance of caution and was not initiated by any known, immediate threat.”
The FDA acknowledged that and parent company Inspire Brands’ intention to do a cleaning and sanitation of Jimmy John’s restaurants in Iowa, where the last outbreak occurred.
“However,” the FDA wrote, “neither you nor your parent company proposed any corrective actions to prevent these, or other Jimmy John’s restaurants, from receiving adulterated produce, specifically sprouts.”
The sprouts involved in the December outbreak that sickened 22 people in Iowa were tracked to Sprouts Unlimited. The FDA inspected its Marion, Iowa, facility from Dec. 31, 2019, through Jan. 9.
The FDA conclusion from the inspections: “Your clover sprouts are adulterated within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in that your clover sprouts bear or contain an added poisonous or deleterious substance which may render them injurious to health.”
Sprouts also was upbraided for not taking enough corrective action when “samples of your growing, harvesting, packing, or holding areas tested positive for Listeria species.”
Also, the FDA noted, after a lab told Sprouts it found E. coli in both the clover sprouts and the spent sprout irrigation water, the trays used weren’t cleaned before being sanitized.
“Sanitizing is generally not effective unless it is preceded by a cleaning step, because residual organic material can protect pathogens from the action of the sanitizing treatment,” the FDA wrote.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 5:53 PM.
