Broccoli Sprouts Are Recalled Over Link to Salmonella Outbreak

Broccoli sprouts grown by a company in Idaho are being recalled after they were linked to a salmonella outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

The sprouts were distributed by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts L.L.C. to food co-ops, restaurants, food service customers and grocery stores in Washington State, Montana and Idaho. Illnesses were reported in those states as well as in Utah. The authorities said the product might have reached other states, too.

The contaminated products are packaged in plastic bags or plastic clamshell containers with expiration dates of Sept. 7, Sept. 9, Sept. 11, Sept. 14 and Sept. 16.

On Sept. 2, the Washington State Department of Health announced it was investigating a salmonella outbreak after 13 people there reported becoming ill after eating the company’s sprouts between July 7 and Aug. 18. Two of the 13 people in Washington were hospitalized.

On Sept. 3, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced its own investigation after two people in that state fell ill.

On Sept. 4, Evergreen Fresh Sprouts recalled its broccoli sprouts based on a positive salmonella result from a sample collected and analyzed by the Montana state officials, according to the F.D.A.

Evergreen Fresh Sprouts could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.

The C.D.C. warned restaurants and stores against selling or serving the recalled sprouts, and advised the washing and sanitizing of any items or surfaces that may have come in contact with the food.

Public health officials in Washington and Montana, as well as the F.D.A., said this outbreak appeared unrelated to a recent multistate salmonella and E. coli outbreak traced to alfalfa sprouts from another company, Everything Sprouts L.L.C. in Minnesota.

This summer, tens of thousands of people have fallen ill from cyclospora linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce. A salmonella outbreak tied to jalapeños also sickened at least 345 people in 47 states. Nineteen million eggs were also recalled in July because of salmonella contamination that the F.D.A. later deemed as Class I, for the highest health risk.