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FDA and CDC Confirm Salmonella in Sprouts

By PritzkerLaw

An outbreak of  31 cases of Salmonella Saintpaul has prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a general advisory for consumers not to eat alfalfa sprouts.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen represents victims of the outbreak and is accepting additional cases from all affected states To reach a Salmonella lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), or complete a free case consultation form.

The FDA and CDC said in a press release that all 31 cases with matching genetic fingerprints have been confirmed in six states. The number of actual cases may be higher and is likely to grow, the agencies said. The illnesses started in mid-March and the outbreak appears to be an extension of a Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that began in February in Nebraska, where grower CW Sprouts Inc., issued a recall.

Pritzker Olsen is involved in practically all major outbreaks of foodborne illness and the firm's food poisoning attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in damages for victims. Currently, we are representing the families of three women who died with Salmonella infections they suffered after eating peanut butter and other products made by Peanut Corp. of America.

In the current Salmonella outbreak linked to sprouts, the FDA and CDC said initial results in the  investigation trace back to multiple growers in multiple states. The six states currently listed as venues for the outbreak are Michigan, Minnesota,  Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia. 

The outbreak may be linked to contaminated seeds and the bad seeds may account for a large proportion of seeds now in use, according to the press release. In 1999, FDA issued guidance for sprout growers on how to avoid Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7  from harboring in their plants.

Now the agency is working with the industry to return to stricter adherence to those guidelines, which include instructions on how to disinfect seeds with chemical spray. The full FDA and CDC press release can be found here. 

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on April 27, 2009 (boomark / email).