FDA Issues Warning to Jimmy Johns for Food Safety Violations

The US Food and Drug Administration has shared a warning letter issued to Jimmy Johns on February 21.

In it, they claim certain vegetables the sandwich chain served have been "implicated in five outbreaks of E. coli or Salmonella in the past seven years, and impacted consumers in no fewer than 17 states", CNN reports.

The FDA accuses Jimmy Johns of "engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers."

Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response said in a release,

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.

A warning was also sent to Sprouts Unlimited Wholesale Foods for supplying sprouts to Jimmy John’s which sickened 22 people in November and December 2019.

The FDA has asked that Jimmy Johns responds within 15 days with specific things they are doing to address the alleged violations.

Jimmy John's president James North told CNN the chain has removed sprouts from all its locations until further notice, saying,

"Food safety is our top priority ... This removal (of sprouts) was out of an abundance of caution and was not initiated by any known, immediate threat."