The seed supplier behind a multi-state outbreak linked to sprouts may have been named quietly in an obscure FDA report.
First reported by Phyllis Entis on eFoodAlert.com, the news about International Sprout Holdings Inc. of Cookeville, TN, came in an entry on the Food and Drug Administration’s Enforcement Report. The report generally includes information about recalls that are usually months, if not years, old.
This time, however, the entry about the sprout supplier came out within three weeks of the announcement of an outbreak of E. coli and Salmonella infections traced to alfalfa sprouts grown by Everything Sprouts LLC of Minneapolis, MN.
The FDA and CDC announced the outbreak on Aug. 21. According to the FDA’s Enforcement Report, International Sprout Holdings Inc. recalled 43,799 pounds of alfalfa seeds on Aug 23. The company notified its customers by email.
However an announcement on Aug. 31 from the FDA said the agency requested a seed supplier to recall its product but the company had declined to do so.
“At this time, the common seed supplier has not responded to FDA’s recall recommendation, has not sent a recall notice to downstream customers, and has not instructed the customers who received the implicated alfalfa sprout seed lot to initiate recalls,” according to the agency.
Alfalfa seeds covered by the Aug. 23 recall were supplied to wholesale customers in California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Tahiti, and Venezuela. Neither the wholesale consignees nor the ultimate downstream recipients of the alfalfa seeds were named.
With the recall coming two days after the outbreak investigation notices, it can be presumed that the implicated seeds are behind the situation.
As of Aug. 21, the FDA and CDC were reporting that 55 people across 15 states had been infected by E. coli and/or Salmonella. Patient interviews showed a connection to Everything Sprouts, but the agencies said at least one other sprout grower was likely involved. Neither the FDA or CDC have named the other implicated grower.
Everything Sprouts initiated a recall of three varieties of their sprouts and added a fourth product a week later.
