The day after an FDA warning letter, Jimmy John’s linked to another E. coli outbreak
Sprouts used by Jimmy John’s sandwich chain have been linked to a five-state E. coli outbreak by the CDC and FDA, the agencies announced Wednesday afternoon.
Don’t confuse this with the warning letter the FDA sent Jimmy John’s Friday and made public Tuesday. After five being tied to five foodborne illness outbreaks, four of them E. coli, in the last seven years, the FDA upbraided Jimmy John’s for a track record of receiving and selling “adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers.”
Jimmy John’s stopped serving clover sprouts in its restaurants Monday.
FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas said in a statement: “These 14 new cases are not associated with the warning letter that the FDA issued to the company yesterday, but they do underscore the seriousness of the issue as we work with Jimmy John’s to prevent outbreaks like these in the future.”
The 14 cases come from Illinois (six), Iowa and Utah (three each), Texas and Missouri (one each). The first illness was reported Jan. 6, the most recent was Feb. 11. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no one has died or has been hospitalized yet.
E. coli O103 brings serious stomachaches, diarrhea, fever, vomiting and, in the worse cases, hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). That’s a kidney failure that can be fatal.
Both the FDA and CDC say any Jimmy John’s sandwiches with sprouts should be tossed, even those already partially eaten that look safe.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 5:33 AM.
