Salmonella outbreak tied to Idaho sprout grower reaches 32 cases across six states

Federal and state health investigators are tracking a multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to broccoli sprouts grown by an Idaho company that has now been tied to three separate food-safety incidents in fifteen years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration reported this week that the outbreak, caused by a strain called Salmonella Bovismorbificans, has sickened 32 people in six states, and the case count has climbed steadily since the first illnesses were identified in July.

Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC, based in Moyie Springs, Idaho, halted production of its broccoli sprouts on Sept. 4 and recalled 215 cases of the product on Sept. 10 after a sample tested by Montana state officials matched the outbreak strain. The company has not resumed production or distribution of the product while it investigates the source of the contamination.

The numbers

As of the FDA's Sept. 24 update, 32 illnesses have been confirmed across Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Three people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. Illness onset dates range from July 7 to Sept. 3, and patients range in age from 2 to 87, with a median age of 52. Washington accounts for the largest share of cases by far. According to the Washington State Department of Health, 24 of the 32 cases are in the state, concentrated in King, Whatcom and Spokane counties, with additional cases scattered across eight other counties.

Health officials caution that the true toll is almost certainly higher. Many people who become sick from Salmonella recover without seeking medical care or being tested, so confirmed case counts in outbreaks like this one typically represent a fraction of actual infections. Investigators used whole genome sequencing to confirm that bacteria isolated from sick patients and from tested product samples were genetically related, which is how they traced the illnesses back to Evergreen's broccoli sprouts.

A pattern of prior outbreaks

This is not the first time Evergreen Fresh Sprouts has been at the center of a foodborne illness investigation. According to a timeline compiled by the food-safety trade publication Food Safety News, the company's alfalfa and spicy sprouts were linked to a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak in 2011 that sickened 25 people in five states. In that episode, the company initially declined to recall its products, prompting the FDA to take the unusual step of issuing a direct public warning to consumers before Evergreen recalled the sprouts. The FDA followed up that October with a warning letter after inspectors documented pipes dripping onto uncovered sprouts and employees handling product without gloves or aprons.

A second outbreak followed in 2014, when raw clover sprouts from the company were linked to 19 E. coli O121 illnesses in six states. FDA inspectors at the time found rusty and corroded equipment and condensation dripping in areas where sprouts were being grown. Raw sprouts are considered a higher-risk food category by regulators because the warm, humid conditions needed to germinate seeds are also ideal for bacterial growth, and the FDA has long advised that children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind.

Who is affected

The recalled broccoli sprouts were sold in clear plastic 4-ounce bags, six to a case, with use-by dates of Sept. 7, 9, 11, 14 and 16, and were distributed to grocery stores, restaurants and foodservice accounts in Idaho, Montana and Washington. Because sprouts move quickly through the supply chain and are often used as a garnish rather than a headline ingredient, consumers may not always be aware they have eaten them, which complicates both the recall and the epidemiological interviews investigators rely on to trace an outbreak. State health departments have urged anyone holding the affected product to throw it away rather than attempt to return it, and restaurants and food-service operators have been told not to serve it.

An analysis published by food-safety attorney Bill Marler on his law firm's blog, which tracks foodborne illness litigation, found that 25 of the 32 confirmed patients reported becoming ill before Aug. 24, the date the first recalled bags were delivered to distributors — meaning the recalled lots can account for, at most, the final seven cases identified so far. The finding suggests contaminated product may have been moving through the supply chain for weeks before the recalled batches were pulled, and that the outbreak's source may predate the specific lots the company has recalled.

Reaction and next steps

In its recall notice, Evergreen Fresh Sprouts said it had stopped making broccoli sprouts entirely while it works to identify how the contamination occurred.

"Our company has ceased the production and distribution of broccoli sprouts since 9/04/2026 and is currently conducting a root cause investigation," the company said in its recall notice.

The FDA said its own investigation into the contamination source remains active, and the agency has not yet said whether the problem originated with a specific seed lot, growing conditions at the Moyie Springs facility, or another point in the production process. State epidemiologists in the affected states continue to interview newly reported patients, and officials have cautioned that additional illnesses tied to the outbreak could still be reported in the coming weeks, since it typically takes several weeks for a case to be confirmed, reported to a state health department and matched to an outbreak.

No criminal or civil enforcement action against the company has been announced. Marler's firm, which has represented plaintiffs in past Evergreen-linked outbreaks, has said it is reviewing potential claims on behalf of people sickened this time. The FDA has not said whether this outbreak will result in a new warning letter or inspection findings similar to those issued after the company's prior incidents.