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Warning letter puts Sprouts Unlimited on notice after outbreak

February 25, 2020 from FoodSafetyNews and FDA:

"The FDA has Sprouts Unlimited Inc. on a short leash, according to a warning letter detailing how the Jimmy John’s supplier has consistently failed to respond to the contamination that eventually resulted in a 2019 outbreak."

"If the company fails to correct pathogen problems in its sprout growing factory the federal government is ready to step in and shut it down, states a warning letter sent to company president William Beach. The Food and Drug Administration gives business owners 15 days from receipt of a warning letter to respond. The letter posted today is dated Feb. 21."

"The warning letter says laboratory testing confirmed that the E. coli O103 strain that infected outbreak victims was present at the Sprouts Unlimited factory and in the finished product. On Dec. 27, 2019, the company initiated a limited recall of some of its clover sprouts that were distributed to Jimmy John’s restaurants and Hy Vee and Fareway grocery stores."

"The warning letter says laboratory testing confirmed that the E. coli O103 strain that infected outbreak victims was present at the Sprouts Unlimited factory and in the finished product. On Dec. 27, 2019, the company initiated a limited recall of some of its clover sprouts that were distributed to Jimmy John’s restaurants and Hy Vee and Fareway grocery stores."