Broccoli sprouting seed recalls widen as FDA traces salmonella outbreak to a seed supplier

Three more seed and sprout companies have recalled products in the past two weeks as federal investigators work to pin down the source of a multistate Salmonella outbreak tied to broccoli sprouting seeds, bringing the tally of recalled brands to at least five since early September.

What's being recalled

The Food and Drug Administration says it traced the outbreak to a single, so-far-unnamed seed supplier after collecting and testing a seed sample that came back positive for Salmonella; whole-genome sequencing matched the strain making people sick. That contaminated lot, numbered W4105, has now triggered recalls from companies that bought from the same source: Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, EAK Distribution, Eden Brothers, and, most recently, Gardeners Basics, whose 1-pound bags of Waltham 29 broccoli sprouting seeds were sold nationwide online. Todd's Seeds, a Tennessee company, separately recalled several alfalfa-based sprouting mixes in early October. The FDA has not disclosed the name of the common seed grower, even as it keeps naming the retailers and packagers who bought from it.

Who has gotten sick

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's outbreak page, 32 people across six states — Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington — have been confirmed sick with the outbreak strain, Salmonella Bovismorbificans, with illnesses beginning between early July and early September. Three people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. The outbreak was first linked to fresh broccoli sprouts sold by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts of Idaho, but investigators later traced the contamination further upstream to the seeds themselves, according to Food Safety News.

What to do

Federal officials say the safest move is to throw out, not compost, any recalled seeds or sprouts grown from them, and to avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind if you are pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised. Consumers who sprouted seeds at home should also wash any jars, trays or kitchen surfaces the seeds touched with hot, soapy water. Because the investigation remains open, the FDA says additional products tied to the same seed lot could still be identified and recalled in the days ahead.