In the span of five days, CDC closed two multistate sprout outbreaks. On November 4 it was broccoli sprouts. On November 9 it was alfalfa sprouts.

Between them: 111 people sick in 19 states. Nine hospitalized. No deaths, thankfully.

CDC posted final onset and location data for each outbreak. I downloaded all four files and ran the numbers. Here is what they show.

 Alfalfa sproutsBroccoli sprouts
GrowerEverything Sprouts (Minneapolis, MN)Evergreen Fresh Sprouts (Moyie Springs, ID)
PathogensE. coli O26:H11, O103:H25, O168:H8; Salmonella AgonaSalmonella Bovismorbificans
Sick7734
States166
Hospitalized6 of 69 (9%)3 of 34 (9%)
Deaths00
Illness onsetsMay 31 – Oct. 19July 7 – Sept. 11
Grower recallAug. 22Sept. 4
Sick before recall72 of 7732 of 34
Seed lotSAL2-24JBW4105 (imported from New Zealand)
Outbreak declared overNov. 9Nov. 4

Sources: CDC and FDA final outbreak notices and CDC onset and location data (Nov. 4 and Nov. 9, 2026).

The alfalfa outbreak: 77 sick, four pathogens

This one was messy from the start. Three strains of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and one strain of Salmonella Agona, all traced to alfalfa sprouts from Everything Sprouts of Minneapolis. According to CDC’s final update, 64 people had E. coli only, 10 had Salmonella only, and 3 had both.

Patients ranged from 12 to 94 years old, median 38. Seventy-seven percent were women. Of 52 people interviewed, 41 (79 percent) ate sprouts, and 36 named alfalfa. In CDC’s FoodNet survey, only 8.7 percent of healthy people report eating any sprouts in a week.

All 13 Salmonella patients had strains predicted to resist three or more antibiotics, including azithromycin. Most people recover without antibiotics. The ones who need them may not get a drug that works on the first try.

When FDA and CDC first announced the outbreak on August 21, they counted 55 people in 15 states. The final count grew by 40 percent, but don’t read that as new infections after the warning. Most of it was the lab catching up.

Timing. The onset data shows 56 of the 77 people got sick in July. By August 20, when the Minnesota and Wisconsin health departments went public, 72 were already sick. Everything Sprouts recalled its alfalfa sproutson August 22 and added a radish mix on August 28.

After the recall. Five people got sick after August 22: on August 25, 27 and 28, September 9 and October 19. The first three fit sprouts bought before the recall. The last two don’t. The recalled sprouts were distributed through August 21, and nobody eats August sprouts in October. CDC doesn’t explain those two cases.

Geography. Minnesota (29) and Wisconsin (27) accounted for 73 percent of the cases, which matches where the sprouts were shipped. The other 21 people lived in 14 states from Florida to Washington. Some were surely travelers. CDC and FDA haven’t said how the rest were exposed.

The grower’s record. In March 2025, FDA sent Everything Sprouts a warning letter over what it called serious violations of the Produce Safety Rule, including, according to AP, a leaking roof dripping onto bean sprouts. During the outbreak, the company said its daily tests were negative. CDC’s final word, though, points upstream: the alfalfa seed lot “may have been contaminated with multiple pathogens.”

The broccoli outbreak: 34 sick, one clear chain

This was a cleaner investigation, and a model for how it should work. One uncommon serotype, Salmonella Bovismorbificans. Patients aged 2 to 87, median 52. Of 30 people interviewed, 29 (97 percent) ate sprouts or microgreens; 25 named broccoli sprouts and one ate a microgreen mix.

And the bug was found at every step. Montana pulled an unopened package of Evergreen broccoli sprouts from a sick person’s home. Washington tested sprouts from a food co-op and another patient’s home. FDA tested seed from the domestic seed supplier. Every sample matched the outbreak strain by whole genome sequencing. Seed to sprout to package to patient.

Timing. The onset data shows 27 of 34 people got sick in August, with the worst day on August 19. Evergreen Fresh Sprouts recalled its broccoli sprouts on September 4. By then, 32 of the 34 were sick. The last two, on September 8 and 11, fit packages bought before the recall, which covered expiration dates through September 16.

FDA tied this outbreak to “broccoli sprouts and microgreens.” That phrase matters. Seed sold for sprouting is also sold for microgreens, and microgreen growers range from big greenhouses to someone with trays in the garage selling at a farmers market. A seed recall has to reach every one of them. Unlike the alfalfa strains, though, nearly all of these bacteria, 32 of 34 patient samples and all five food samples, had no predicted antibiotic resistance.

Geography. Washington had 26 cases (76 percent) and Montana had four. Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon and Utah had one each.

The seed. FDA’s final update says the broccoli seed was imported from New Zealand and sold by a domestic supplier, which recalled lot W4105. Three downstream recalls followed: EAK Distribution (Home Grown seeds on Amazon), Eden Brothers, and Gardeners Basics, whose seed was sold on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy and TikTok Shop.

The grower’s record. This is Evergreen’s third outbreak, after alfalfa and spicy sprouts in 2011 (25 sick) and clover sprouts in 2014 (19 sick). Seventy-eight people across three outbreaks. This time, though, the evidence points squarely at the seed.

What the two outbreaks have in common

The seed was the source. Sprout seeds go into warm water and sit for days. That is perfect for sprouting and perfect for growing bacteria. If the pathogen is in or on the seed, the grower can do a lot right and still ship contaminated sprouts. A clean finished-product test is not a clean seed.

The seed went everywhere. Seed does not spoil in a week. Alfalfa lot SAL2-24JB was recalled by the supplier to Everything Sprouts and by Berlin Seeds, and Todd’s Seeds sold it online, including on Amazon, from January into May. Broccoli lot W4105 ended up under at least three consumer brands sold on half a dozen online marketplaces. One recalled bag is marked “Packed for 2027.” FDA itself warns that recalled seeds “have a long shelf life.”

That is the best explanation I can think of for the September and October alfalfa cases, and for the scattered cases in Minnesota and Utah in the broccoli outbreak. A home sprouter with a bag of seed bought online is the one person a restaurant traceback never finds and a grower’s recall never reaches. CDC hasn’t confirmed that. It should tell us.

The recall came after the outbreak. Combined, 104 of 111 people were sick before either grower recalled anything. That is not a criticism of the epidemiologists in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington and Montana. They found these outbreaks fast. It is how sprouts work. Shelf life is measured in days. By the time a lab confirms an outbreak, the sprouts have been eaten.

Restaurants and co-ops. Seven illness clusters in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and restaurant traceback, led investigators to Everything Sprouts. Broccoli sprouts were found at a Washington food co-op. Plates and bulk bins don’t carry labels.

Names are missing. Neither FDA advisory names the seed supplier behind the implicated lot. For broccoli, we don’t know the New Zealand source either. Consumers get brand names, which helps. But who sold these seed lots, and where else they went, is not in the public record.

This keeps happening

These are not one-offs. In 2016, alfalfa sprouts from Sprouts Extraordinaire sickened 30 people in nine states. In 2014, mung bean sprouts from Wonton Foods sickened 115. The alfalfa outbreak alone was the largest U.S. sprout outbreak since then. Add the broccoli outbreak and this summer nearly matched it.

We have had seed disinfection guidance for more than 25 years and a Produce Safety Rule with a sprout-specific section for nearly a decade. Sprouts still make people sick, year after year.

What should happen now

  • Check your pantry. If you sprout at home, compare your seed with the Berlin Seeds, Todd’s Seeds, Home Grown, Eden Brothers and Gardeners Basics recall notices. If it matches, throw it out and sanitize the jar.
  • Name the seed suppliers. FDA should name who sold lots SAL2-24JB and W4105, the New Zealand source of the broccoli seed, and where else both lots went.
  • Publish the full traceback. Tell us how the 21 alfalfa patients outside Minnesota and Wisconsin were exposed, and where the late-onset patients got their sprouts.
  • Warn before people eat. I have circulated a citizen petition asking FDA to require a warning on raw and lightly cooked sprouts, including at restaurants. Seed sold for sprouting should carry one too.
  • Protect high-risk eaters. If you are pregnant, very young, over 65 or have a weakened immune system, skip raw sprouts. Cook sprouts until steaming hot.

Two outbreaks are over. As long as those seeds are sitting in somebody’s cupboard, I wouldn’t call the problem solved.

Sources