FDA Warns on Evergreen Produce Sprouts

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat Evergreen Produce brand alfalfa sprouts or spicy sprouts because they’ve been “possibly linked” to 20 reported cases of Salmonella Enteritidis in five states, including Washington.

If you have sprouts in plastic bags labeled “Evergreen Produce” or “Evergreen Produce Inc.,” you should throw them out in a sealed container so people and animals, including wild animals, can’t eat them, according to a statement Monday from the FDA. (Read the full details here.)

Patch is trying to get details on where in Washington the sprouts were sold.  (Has anyone seen them or bought them locally? Let us know in the comments.)

 Besides Washington state, the illnesses were reported in Idaho, Montana, New Jersey and North Dakota. The FDA says this strain of S. Enteritidis is “rarely seen at this frequency.” It’s also different from the bug associated with the recent outbreak in Europe.

 What should you watch for? The FDA says :

“Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, some individuals may require hospitalization from severe diarrhea. Salmonellainfection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to other body sites. It can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to become severely ill from Salmonella infection.”