Raw sprouts have long occupied an uncomfortable place in food safety. Grown in warm, humid conditions that are ideal for bacteria, they have been tied to dozens of outbreaks over the past three decades. September 2026 has brought that history back into focus, with public health officials in the Pacific Northwest announcing a new Salmonella outbreak tied to broccoli sprouts even as the FDA continues to investigate a larger, multi-pathogen outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts grown in Minnesota. Together, the two investigations paint a picture of a fragile supply chain, uneven cooperation from the companies involved, and a regulatory system that can be slower than the illnesses it is tracking.
The September outbreak: broccoli sprouts from Idaho
The newer of the two outbreaks surfaced publicly on September 2, when the Washington State Department of Health posted an outbreak notice. According to that notice, officials in Washington and Montana are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Bovismorbificans linked to broccoli sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC of Idaho. The state reported that 13 Washington residents had fallen ill, with onset dates spanning July 7 to August 18. Washington State Department of HealthWashington State Department of Health
The epidemiologic signal pointing to a single grower is fairly strong for an outbreak of this size. Washington reported that of the 12 patients interviewed, eight said they had eaten Evergreen Fresh Sprouts products, seven specifically broccoli sprouts, while the eighth could not identify the variety. The sprouts reached consumers through several channels: grocery stores, food co-ops, and restaurants. Beyond Washington’s cases, three more people infected with the same strain were identified, two in Montana and one in Idaho, bringing the total to 16 as of the first week of September. Local news coverage added that two of the Washington patients were hospitalized, and four of the 13 cases were found in King County. 2026 Salmonella Outbreak linked to Broccoli Sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC | Washington State Department of Health +3
Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services followed with its own release on September 3. The agency confirmed its two cases and cautioned that it expects the in-state count to grow once additional laboratory testing is finished. Montana’s investigation revealed a slightly different retail picture than Washington’s: Montana patients said they bought the sprouts at grocery stores in the state, and local sanitarians are contacting those stores to have the product removed. Both states have laboratory work underway. Montana is testing Evergreen sprout samples at its public health laboratory, and Washington is testing samples from Evergreen and from other suppliers at its own state lab. 2026 Salmonella Outbreak linked to Broccoli Sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC +3
The advice from both agencies is identical and unambiguous. Montana told consumers to throw away or return any Evergreen broccoli sprouts, told retailers not to sell or serve them, and urged anyone who handled the sprouts to wash and sanitize surfaces and containers that touched them. Washington’s guidance added practical detail, recommending that people wash items using hot soapy water or a dishwasher, and listed the warning signs that warrant a call to a doctor: diarrhea with a fever above 102°F, diarrhea lasting more than three days without improvement, bloody diarrhea, vomiting so severe that liquids cannot be kept down, and signs of dehydration such as reduced urination, dry mouth, or dizziness on standing. 2026 Salmonella Outbreak linked to Broccoli Sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC +2
No recall, and a company with a history
The most striking feature of the Evergreen outbreak is what has not happened. As of September 2, no recall had been issued, and no deaths had been reported. That means the only protection consumers have is the state advisories themselves, along with the store-by-store outreach that Montana sanitarians are conducting. Pritzkerlaw
This is not the first time Evergreen Fresh Sprouts has been at the center of an outbreak investigation. According to Food Safety News, the company was behind a 2011 Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that sickened 25 people in five states and a 2014 E. coli O121 outbreak that sickened 19 people in six states. The same outlet noted that across three outbreaks over fifteen years, roughly 60 people have been sickened, and the company has recalled product only once, in 2011, after initially refusing and after the FDA took the unusual step of warning the public directly. Food Safety NewsFood Safety News
The 2014 episode is instructive because it involved a direct look inside the company’s facility. During that investigation, FDA inspectors found multiple insanitary conditions, including apparent mold growth, dripping condensate, irrigation water dripping from rusty valves, and corroded surfaces in contact with growing sprouts. More recently, the FDA inspected the company in 2024 and classified the result as “Voluntary Action Indicated,” though no summary of the observations has been posted. Whether the current outbreak reflects new problems or persistent ones will depend on findings that have not yet been made public. eFoodAlerteFoodAlert
Both Washington and Montana were careful to distinguish this outbreak from the larger one that dominated August. Montana stated that the Salmonella outbreak appears unrelated to the recent multistate Salmonella and E. coli outbreak traced to alfalfa sprouts from Everything Sprouts, LLC in Minnesota. The pathogens are different, the products are different, and the growers are in different states. Department of Public Health and Human Services
The FDA’s August investigation: alfalfa sprouts and a reluctant seed supplier
That larger outbreak remains the FDA’s formally posted sprout investigation. The agency’s advisory describes a joint effort in which the FDA and CDC, working with state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, involving serotypes O26:H11, O103:H25, and O168:H8, together with Salmonella Agona. The tally is substantial: 55 illnesses, four hospitalizations, no deaths, and a most recent illness onset of August 8, 2026, with cases in Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. FDAFDA
The multi-pathogen nature of the outbreak is unusual. Food Safety News reported that 46 people were infected with E. coli, seven with Salmonella, and two with both, and that illnesses began between May 31 and August 8. Case counts skew heavily toward the upper Midwest; one breakdown listed 21 cases in Minnesota and 17 in Wisconsin, with patients ranging in age from 12 to 94. Food Safety NewsFood Poisoning Bulletin
The FDA moved relatively quickly once the grower was identified. Reporting indicates that the agency began an inspection and sample collection at Everything Sprouts on August 19 and recommended a recall. The company complied in stages. Per the FDA’s advisory, on August 22 Everything Sprouts recalled alfalfa sprouts sold under the Calco and Everything Sprouts brands in 5-ounce containers with lot numbers 222, 223, 225, 226, and 230, and the same sprouts were used in the company’s Crunchy Protein Sprout Mix and Zesty Garlic Mix cups. Then, on August 28 the company expanded the recall to certain lots of Robust Radish Sprout Mix because of potential cross-contamination from the recalled alfalfa sprouts. The FDA has confirmed distribution only in Minnesota and Wisconsin, while cautioning that the product could have reached additional states. FDA Tracks Multiple Foodborne Outbreaks as 2026 Summer Surge Sets Records +3
What elevates this investigation beyond a single grower is where the traceback has led. The FDA’s August 31 update stated that although Everything Sprouts’ alfalfa sprouts are a source of illnesses, they do not explain all of the cases. Critically, the agency’s traceback identified at least one additional sprout grower that received and used the same lot of alfalfa seeds from a common seed supplier. Contaminated seed is a well-known root cause in sprout outbreaks, because a single seed lot can be distributed to many growers who then produce sprouts under different brand names. FDAAssociation of Food and Drug Officials
Here the investigation has hit resistance. According to Food Poisoning Bulletin, the FDA recommended that the seed supplier voluntarily recall the implicated seed lot and notify its customers so they could recall sprouts grown from it, but the supplier has not responded, has not sent recall notices, and has not instructed its customers to initiate recalls. The FDA says it is continuing to investigate contamination of the implicated seed as well as other contributing factors or practices among sprout growers. The agency has not publicly named the supplier. Food Poisoning BulletinFood Safety News
What the two outbreaks have in common
Neither the Evergreen nor the Everything Sprouts outbreak has been declared over, and the case counts in both are likely to move. Montana explicitly expects more cases, and the FDA’s August investigation remains open pending seed-supplier and additional-grower findings.
The two episodes also share a structural lesson. In the Everything Sprouts outbreak, the grower recalled product when asked, but the seed supplier upstream did not. In the Evergreen outbreak, the grower itself has not recalled anything, leaving state agencies to warn the public and pull product from shelves on their own. In both cases, the formal recall system lagged the epidemiology, and consumers depended on public advisories rather than removal of product from commerce.
For now, the guidance from every agency involved is consistent. Do not eat recalled Calco or Everything Sprouts alfalfa sprouts or sprout mixes from the listed lots, and do not eat broccoli sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts regardless of lot. Anyone who develops severe symptoms after eating raw sprouts should contact a healthcare provider, and anyone who suspects an outbreak-related illness should report it to their local health department so that investigators can connect the cases.
