On February 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a 12-person E. coli O26 outbreak linked to raw clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s, with E. coli cases reported in the following states: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin. Of the 12 confirmed ill, two were hospitalised.
According to a complaint filed in Polk County District Court, the plaintiff purchased and consumed a Turkey Tom sandwich with sprouts from a Jimmy John’s restaurant in West Des Moines on January 3, 2012. The woman experienced painful gastrointestinal symptoms that lasted approximately three weeks.
She required medical care on several occasions, including treatment by specialists and treatment at the emergency room. The lawsuit states that testing genetically matched her illness to be the same strain of E. coli O26 associated with a multistate outbreak linked to clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s.
The lawsuit further alleges that raw sprouts served at Jimmy John’s have been responsible for four previous E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks in the past four years. In 2008, Health officials in Colorado linked alfalfa sprouts sold at Jimmy John’s restaurants in Boulder to 28 E. coli illnesses.
In 2009, the CDC revealed that many cases associated with a 256-person Salmonella outbreak could be linked to alfalfa sprouts sold at Jimmy John’s restaurants in several states. And, in 2010 alone, nearly 150 people were sickened in two consecutive but separate Salmonella outbreaks linked to alfalfa and clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s.
“Anytime a restaurant is linked to an outbreak, there is a lot of pressure, by way of a tarnished reputation and even lawsuits, to take corrective action,” said Marler. “I think it is fair to say that the free market worked; I only wish Jimmy John’s had pulled sprouts earlier.”
Source: Marler Clark
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