The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday that several vegetables served by Jimmy John’s have been linked to multiple cases of E. Coli and Salmonella over the past seven years.
The federal agency issued a warning letter against the sandwich chain for selling food products implicated in five outbreaks of E. coli or salmonella dating back to 2012. FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas said in a news release:
“Jimmy John’s restaurants have been implicated in multiple outbreaks that have spanned the past seven years and impacted consumers in no fewer than 17 states.
Jimmy John’s has not demonstrated implementation of long-term sustainable corrections to its supply chain to assure the safety of ingredients used in its products.”
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In the letter, the FDA summarized evidence linking Jimmy John’s to illness cases in Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Idaho, Montana, Michigan, Utah, California, Washington, and Iowa. The agency accused the restaurant franchise of engaging “in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers.”
The warning letter from the FDA went on to state:
“..(the) corporate-wide supplier control mechanisms” for receiving produce at Jimmy John’s and its parent company, Inspire Brands, (we found) to be “inadequate.”
“In your response to this letter, please describe and document steps you have or will take to prevent the receipt and sale of adulterated food at each of the approximately 2,800 Jimmy John’s restaurants.”
The FDA also issued a warning letter to Sprouts Unlimited Wholesale Foods for supplying “adulterated” sprouts to Jimmy John’s. In that letter, the agency claimed the sprouts — which they determined to “contain an added poisonous or deleterious substance which may render them injurious to health” — sickened 22 people in 2019.
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Jimmy John’s has since announced that the chain will be removing sprouts from all its locations until further notice. Jimmy John’s president James North said in a statement:
“Food safety is our top priority. We’ve removed sprouts from all Jimmy John’s restaurants until further notice. This removal was out of an abundance of caution and was not initiated by any known, immediate threat.”
According to the FDA letter, the four other outbreaks were:
- A salmonella outbreak that had infected 10 people as of February 28, 2018, in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Eight had eaten sprouts on Jimmy John’s sandwiches, and one ate sprouts bought at a grocery store.
- An E. coli outbreak that had infected 19 people as of August 2014 in California, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Utah and Washington. Most reported eating clover sprouts in the week before becoming sick, and Jimmy John’s was determined to be a likely source in some cases, the FDA said.
- An E. coli outbreak that had infected eight people by the end of October 2013 in Colorado. All had eaten raw cucumbers from one of three Jimmy John’s restaurants in the Denver area, the FDA said.
- An E. coli outbreak that had infected 29 people in 11 states as of April 5, 2012. Most reported eating sprouts at one of six Jimmy John’s restaurants in the week preceding their illness, the FDA said.
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E. coli can cause illness, including diarrhea. Though most healthy adults can recover within a week, some people — especially young children and the elderly — can develop a form of kidney failure, the FDA says.
Salmonella can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections, and can be especially serious in young children, according to the FDA.
Jimmy John’s has more than 2,800 locations in 43 states.
