ATLANTA — Just a year after a salmonella outbreak was linked to alfalfa sprouts sold at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, the restaurant chain's raw clover sprouts have been linked to an E. Coli outbreak.
Twelve people have been sickened by the E. coli in five states — Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here. Two people have been hospitalized.
Jimmy John’s switched from alfalfa sprouts to clover sprouts after 140 people were sickened by Salmonella-contaminated alfalfa sprouts between November 2010 to January 2011. That outbreak was ultimately linked to sprouts that Jimmy John's had sourced from Tiny Greens Farm in Urbana, Ill. According to several reports, the restaurant made the switch because it perceived clover sprouts as easier to clean.
The CDC has reported that the Food and Drug Administration’s traceback investigation is ongoing, but preliminary results points to the raw clover sprouts at Jimmy John’s.
