Business & Tech

FDA Warns On Evergreen Produce Sprouts

The packaged sprouts might be linked to 20 reported cases of salmonella, including nine in Eastern and Central Washington.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat Evergreen Produce brand alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts because they’ve been “possibly linked” to 20 reported cases ofSalmonella Enteritidis in five states, including Washington.

If you have sprouts in plastic bags labeled “Evergreen Produce” or “Evergreen Produce Inc.,” you should throw them out in a sealed container so people and animals, including wild animals, can’t eat them, according to a statement Monday from the FDA. (Read the full details here.)

The state Department of Health said Monday that nine cases of Salmonella Enteritidis occurred in late May and early June among residents of Benton, Ferry, Grant, Spokane, Walla Walla and Whitman counties. Two people were hospitalized.

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The alfalfa sprouts are packaged in 4-ounce and 16-ounce plastic bags with the Idaho company’s pre-printed labels, the Health Department said. They are also packaged in 1-pound and 5-pound plastic bags with stick-on labels. The spicy sprouts are packaged in 4-ounce plastic bags with pre-printed labels and 1-pound plastic bags with stick-on labels.

The sprouts were distributed to grocery stores and restaurants in Washington and other Northwest states. “The Department of Health urges markets, restaurants, and delicatessens to check their stock immediately and pull all of these products. Retailers and wholesalers who have any of the identified sprouts should separate them from other produce and contact their supplier,” the Health Department said. (For the full statement from the Health Department, click here.)

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Besides Washington state, the illnesses were reported in Idaho, Montana, New Jersey and North Dakota, according to the FDA, which says this strain of S. Enteritidis is “rarely seen at this frequency.” It’s also different from the bug associated with the recent outbreak in Europe.

 What should you watch for? The FDA says :

“Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, some individuals may require hospitalization from severe diarrhea. Salmonellainfection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to other body sites. It can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to become severely ill from Salmonella infection.”


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