Alfalfa Sprouts Outbreak Follows 16 Months Without Reinspection

Alfalfa sprouts from Everything Sprouts of Minneapolis have sickened 55 people in 15 states with E. coli, Salmonella, or both, CDC figures show. Four people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The grower recalled named lots on August 22. FDA had already cited the same plant in March 2025 for water dripping onto exposed sprouts, then did not walk back in until people were already sick.

https://x.com/CDCgov/status/2091199499133686149

55 Illnesses, Four Germs, 15 States

CDC’s investigation page, updated August 24, 2026, lists illnesses that began between May 31 and August 8. The agency says the true count is likely much higher, because many people recover without a lab test and it usually takes three to four weeks to tie a case to an outbreak.

This outbreak is not one germ. CDC is tracking three Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains, O26:H11, O103:H25, and O168:H8, plus Salmonella Agona. Forty-six people had E. coli, seven had Salmonella, and two people were infected with both, a mix the agency called out as urgent. CDC said it has seen other multi-germ outbreaks, including a 2019 oyster cluster, but they are uncommon.

CDC figures show that 26 of 34 people interviewed had eaten alfalfa sprouts in the week before they got sick. That share sits far above the 8.7% of people in CDC’s FoodNet survey who said they eat any sprouts, alfalfa, bean, or clover, in a typical period. Sick people ranged from 12 to 94 years old, with a median age of 34, and 73% were female.

Whole genome sequencing found the bacteria from patients were closely related, which is how investigators decide people likely ate the same food. Salmonella from nine people’s samples was predicted to resist three or more of fosfomycin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline, a finding CDC said is unlikely to change treatment for most patients. The E. coli samples from 46 people showed no predicted drug resistance. Antibiotics are not advised for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, because they can raise the risk of kidney injury.

On Minnehaha Avenue, a Roof Kept Leaking

The plant sits at 2751 Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis. Owner Melissa L. Mann received a warning letter dated March 28, 2025, after FDA inspectors were in the building from October 30 through November 14, 2024. The letter said mung bean, soybean, and green sprout products were adulterated because they had been packed and held under insanitary conditions. Alfalfa is not named anywhere in that letter. The hazards FDA wrote down were about the room, the water, and the gear.

On October 31, 2024, our investigator observed the roof leaking through the ceiling tiles in the middle of the production room approximately four feet from the packaging tables. Water from the leak was observed dripping onto the totes of cooled, exposed mung bean sprouts as pallets were transferred through the area for packaging.

Laura Akowuah, Acting Director, FDA Office of Enforcement, March 28, 2025 warning letter

Investigators also logged a warehouse leak dripping near a rack of clean smocks, condensate falling from cooler units that held finished sprouts, and black organic matter on an irrigation hose that ran straight over exposed soy sprouts. Torn plastic on growing cabins had been patched with tape, and sprouts were stuck to the tape in more than one spot. Soiled strip curtains brushed harvested mung beans as they moved between rooms. Flaking paint and visible soil sat on walls above a conveyor of exposed sprouts.

WHAT INSPECTORS WROTE DOWN

• The production roof: Water from a roof leaking through the ceiling tiles hit open totes of cooled mung bean sprouts about four feet from the packing tables.
• The warehouse: A second leak dripped near clean smocks meant for workers who touch the product.
• The coolers: Condensate dripped from condenser units onto door frames and into the finished-product cooler, a problem FDA had also seen at this building in 2023 and 2018 under earlier owners.
• The growing cabins: Condensate hung on the underside of the overhead watering system, and black buildup sat on a hose over soy sprouts.
• The patches: Plastic sheeting was ripped and taped, with sprouts adhered to the tape, which FDA said can give germs a place to hide and make cleaning harder.

Mann’s team answered in writing on December 5 and 6, 2024. The company said it would write a leak procedure, block off wet spots or hang drain tarps, squeegee condensate, and, later, add drip pans or replace the units. FDA wrote that it could not judge whether those steps were enough. The letter noted that the firm rents the building and that the landlord would fix the roof as a long-term project, with no repair date given. “We will evaluate the adequacy of your corrective actions at our next inspection,” the agency said, twice.

Why the Recheck Took Sixteen Months

FDA closed that 2024 visit in mid-November, mailed the warning letter on March 28, 2025, and said the next inspection would be the test of the repairs. Inspectors did not start that return visit until August 19, 2026, after CDC and state health departments had already tied illnesses to the company’s alfalfa. The investigation is still open.

A dirty seed lot can explain one Salmonella strain moving through a sprouter. It is a thinner explanation for three E. coli types and Salmonella showing up in the same cluster, including two people who carried both. Water dripping from a roof, condensate in coolers, and a soiled hose over growing beds are the kind of plant problems that can put more than one germ onto more than one product, even if the 2025 letter never used the word alfalfa.

1. October 30, 2024: FDA begins an inspection at Everything Sprouts on Minnehaha Avenue.
2. November 14, 2024: Inspectors finish and leave a Form FDA 483 of observations.
3. December 5, 2024: The company files written replies describing leak tarps, squeegees, and later drip pans.
4. March 28, 2025: FDA issues the warning letter and says it will judge the repairs at the next inspection.
5. May 31, 2026: First illness onset in the outbreak CDC later links to the firm’s alfalfa sprouts.
6. August 8, 2026: Last reported illness onset in the current count.
7. August 19, 2026: FDA starts an inspection and sample collection at the plant.
8. August 22, 2026: Everything Sprouts, LLC recalls named lots of alfalfa sprouts and mixes.

The company’s FDA-posted recall notice says 55 illness reports have reached federal and state partners and that it is working with officials on the source. Earlier company comments, carried in wire coverage, said daily tests after the outbreak began had not come back positive. Those lab claims sit beside interview data in which three-quarters of sick people named alfalfa sprouts, and beside restaurant traceback in Minnesota and Wisconsin that pointed at this grower.

Minnesota Kitchens and a 15-State Map

Minnesota’s health and agriculture departments said on August 20 that 23 people in the state got sick between July 8 and August 8, with two hospital stays. Wisconsin’s health department the same day counted 17 Wisconsinites sick from the sprouts, with one person hospitalized. CDC later folded those clusters into the national total of 55, spread across Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.

At least two restaurant illness clusters in Minnesota and Wisconsin named alfalfa sprouts as the common food. Traceback from those kitchens and from grocery stores identified Everything Sprouts as the source. The firm told FDA it shipped recalled product from May 27, 2026, to August 21, 2026, to wholesale distributors and grocery stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin. FDA says restaurants in those two states received the sprouts as well, and that the product could have moved farther than the confirmed map.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli can bring severe stomach cramps and diarrhea, often bloody, starting a few days after the food or as late as nine days. Some infections go on to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a clot-and-anemia injury that can shut down kidneys. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases says that syndrome is the most common cause of acute kidney injury in children. Salmonella illness usually starts 12 to 72 hours after the meal and lasts four to seven days, with diarrhea, fever, and cramps. Young children, older adults, and people with weak immune systems face the hardest course of both infections.

Sprouts Grow in the Same Warm Water Bacteria Love

FDA’s own sprout guidance states the production conditions, temperature, moisture, pH, and nutrients, are also ideal for germs if they are present on the seed or in the room. Between 1996 and 2020, the agency counted 52 reported outbreaks tied to sprouts, with at least 2,700 illnesses, 200 hospital stays, and three deaths. When investigators could name a source, they often landed on the seed. Poor sanitation at the sprouter has also been enough.

That history is not a side note. CDC outbreak summaries show the same food, raw alfalfa, turning up for decades, including 235 Salmonella Saintpaul illnesses in 14 states in 2009, 140 Salmonella illnesses in 26 states tied to Tiny Greens sprouts in 2010 and 2011, 36 Salmonella Reading and Abony illnesses in 2016, and 63 Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses from SunSprout alfalfa in 2022 and 2023. In that last cluster, 70% of people interviewed had eaten alfalfa sprouts, against the same 8.7% FoodNet baseline CDC is using now.

Federal sprout rules already require growers to treat seed, grow in a fully enclosed building, clean food-contact surfaces before they touch seed or sprouts, and test spent irrigation water from each batch for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella before the product ships. A plant can still pass those tests and ship a product that later matches sick people’s bacteria, which is the tension in this recall. Warm, wet germination multiplies whatever arrived on the seed, and whatever dripped from a ceiling, a cooler, or a hose.

Which Recalled Lots Belong in the Trash?

Throw out or return recalled Calco and Everything Sprouts alfalfa in 5-ounce plastic cups from lots 222, 223, 225, 226, and 230. The same alfalfa went into two mixed cups. If a frozen pack has lost its label, FDA says to throw it away. Wash boards, counters, fridge shelves, and utensils that touched the sprouts with hot soapy water, or run them through a dishwasher.

PRODUCTS ON THE RECALL LIST

• 5-ounce cups: Everything Sprouts and Calco alfalfa in plastic containers, lots 222, 223, 225, 226, and 230, barcodes 860014523113, 860014523120, and 850079470149.
• Crunchy Protein Sprout Mix: 5-ounce cups, lots 222, 223, 226, and 230.
• Zesty Garlic Mix: 5-ounce cups, lots 222, 223, 225, 226, and 230.
• Where they went: Wholesale and grocery in Minnesota and Wisconsin from May 27 to August 21, 2026, plus restaurants in those states, with possible onward shipping.

Stores that broke bulk cups into smaller packs should pull those too. Anyone who ate the recalled sprouts and now has bloody diarrhea, a high fever, little urine, or dizziness should call a doctor rather than wait it out. The company listed questions at everythingsproutsmn@gmail.com.

FDA Still Wants to Know About the Seeds

FDA said on August 21 that it had recommended a recall, and the company posted one the next day. The agency is still trying to learn whether other sprouters used the same seed, and whether more products or firms belong in this outbreak. A shared seed lot would not stop at one Minneapolis plant. That is the question that decides whether 55 cases stay a one-grower recall or become a seed-supply event.

The current count closed its last onset on August 8, and CDC’s own lag means later illnesses can still be added. Until FDA says the seed question is closed, the practical step for anyone holding those cups is the same one CDC posted on August 22: do not eat them.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting on a federal outbreak investigation and is for information only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a guide to treating E. coli, Salmonella, or kidney injury, and it is not advice on whether a specific product in your kitchen is safe. Anyone with symptoms after eating sprouts, especially children, older adults, and people with weak immune systems, should contact a licensed physician or other qualified clinician, and parents should not give anti-diarrheal medicine or antibiotics for suspected STEC unless a clinician directs it. Case counts, lot lists, and inspection findings reflect CDC, FDA, and state releases as of August 26, 2026, and may change as the investigation continues.