Advisory: E. Coli Cases In Washington Possibly Linked To Clover Sprouts
Health officials have advised people not to eat clover sprouts until further notice because of a possible link to E. coli. Ten people have become ill from E. coli in Washington and Idaho since May 1; half of them were hospitalized.
Health officials say the cases appear to be linked to eating raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts of Idaho. The company sells to area grocery stores and restaurants like Jimmy John’s sandwiches and Pita Pit. Cases have popped up in Kootenai County, Idaho and Spokane and King Counties, Washington.
Epidemiologist Dorothy MacEachern said sprouts are a potentially hazardous food.
“Our advisory always is the young, the old, pregnant, and immune-compromised should stay away from sprouts all together, but in this case we’re saying if you have clover sprouts, you should probably throw them away and put them in the garbage where nobody else can get them, including animals,” MacEachern said.
People ill from E. coli normally have severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea. MacEachern said sprouts can carry bacteria easily because they are produced in wet, warm environments.
Washington and Idaho’s departments of health advise people not to eat clover sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts until further notice. Similar looking alfalfa sprouts are not in the advisory.
Copyright 2014 Spokane Public Radio
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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