Alfalfa-SproutsMinnesota and Wisconsin state health and agriculture officials are investigating an outbreak of foodborne illness associated with alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts. Retailers and restaurants should not sell or serve alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts, and consumers should not eat them at this time.

Routine disease monitoring by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) identified seven E. coli O157:NM cases in January and early February; E. coli bacteria from those cases all had the same DNA fingerprint. The ill individuals range in age from 18 to 84 years, and five are female. Four of the cases are residents of the Twin Cities metro area, and three live in greater Minnesota. Two were hospitalized, and both have recovered. Two additional cases of E. coli O157 infection, considered part of this outbreak, were identified by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) in Wisconsin residents. Neither case was hospitalized.

Minnesota officials are working with investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), WDHS, and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (WIDATCP). Jack & The Green Sprouts is located in River Falls, Wis., and distributes alfalfa sprouts to states in the upper Midwest and possibly other states. The seven Minnesota cases and at least one of the Wisconsin cases were exposed to implicated alfalfa sprouts from a variety of locations, including grocery/cooperative stores, restaurants, salad bars and commercial food service.

Jack & The Green Sprouts alfalfa sprouts may be packaged in a plastic clamshell with a brightly colored round label on top that notes the sprout variety. The alfalfa sprouts may be mixed in the same package with other sprout varieties.