Sprouters Northwest Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak - Washington and Oregon
Nine people in Washington State and four in Oregon were infected with Salmonella Typhimurium after consuming contamianted alfalfa sprouts in August of 2008. The first cases were reported in early August, and the Salmonella outbreak investigation led to the determination that alfalfa sprouts produced and distributed by Sprouters Northwest of Kent, WA were the source of the outbreak. The company recalled its product and stopped distributing it. Consumers with Sprouters Northwest products in their homes were advised to return the product to the store of purchase or discard it.
Sprouts are second only to leafy greens as a vehicle for produce-related illness outbreaks. The environment for growing sprouts - warm and moist - is also ideal for the growth of bacteria. Bacteria can get on the seeds in many ways: fields can be contaminated by grazing animals; harvest and production machinery can become contaminated, and then spread that contamination; and as seeds are ‘scarred’ or cracked on processing, bacteria can enter the seed. In addition to that, sprouts are rarely washed or cooked, which might kill the bacteria.