As of October 8, 2026, FDA’s outbreak advisory on the Salmonella Bovismorbificans outbreak linked to Evergreen Fresh Sprouts broccoli sprouts says a seed sample the agency collected from the seed supplier tested positive and matched the outbreak strain by whole genome sequencing. The October 7 update is the first time a federal page has said where the Salmonella came from. The same day, Eden Brothers LLC of Arden, North Carolina recalled its Calabrese Broccoli Seeds from supplier lot W4105, sold nationwide through EdenBrothers.com and Amazon from July 8 through September 28. Thirty-two people are sick in six states, 24 of them in Washington, three hospitalized, none dead. No illnesses are reported from the seed sold to home sprouters, and FDA still has not named the supplier.
FDA now says the outbreak came from a contaminated seed lot, and its own sample matched the patients.
The October 7 entry rewrites the first sentence of the advisory. The outbreak is now described as linked to “broccoli sprouts and microgreens grown from a contaminated seed lot,” investigated separately from the alfalfa sprout outbreak. FDA collected and tested a seed sample from the identified seed supplier, the sample tested positive, and whole genome sequencing matched it to the outbreak strain. The supplier recalled lot W4105 and notified its customers, and FDA says it is continuing to work through the supply chain and will update the advisory if more downstream recalls are initiated. The CDC page has not changed since September 24: 32 sick in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington, illnesses starting July 7 to September 3, ages 2 to 87. Of 27 people interviewed, 26 ate sprouts or microgreens and 22 named broccoli sprouts. I connected the first seed recall to this outbreak here on October 2 and on Marler Blog on October 5. It took FDA until October 7 to say so.
The Eden Brothers recall covers three package sizes and two lot numbers printed on the packet or bag.
The product is EDEN BROTHERS Broccoli Seeds – Calabrese: the packet (item SVBRO111-qb1), the one-ounce bag (SVBRO111-qb2) and the one-pound bag (SVBRO111-qb4), all marked “Use by 2026.” The lot number, 1022067 or 1022068, is printed on the packet or bag. Eden Brothers says its supplier notified it that seed from lot W4105 may be contaminated with Salmonella, that it stopped selling the lots and is contacting customers directly, and that it will refund the recalled seed. Customers can call 855-440-2929, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, or email service@edenbrothers.com. Retailers and resellers were told to stop distribution and destroy remaining inventory.
Seed lot W4105 has now produced three public recalls, and the supplier’s name is in none of them.
Evergreen Fresh Sprouts recalled its four-ounce bags of broccoli sprouts on September 4, after a Montana sample tested positive; the Salmonella Blog covered the recall and the recall notice on September 11. On October 2, EAK Distribution of Casper, Wyoming recalled HOME GROWN Green Sprouting Calabrese Broccoli Seeds, 8-ounce pouches, lot AUG172026, UPC 850056627443, sold on Amazon from August 20 to September 18; this blog covered that recall again on October 6. EAK’s notice says its supplier flagged lot W4105 on September 16 and reported on September 28 that FDA had found Salmonella in a broccoli seed sample. Eden Brothers followed on October 7. The supplier’s own recall of the bulk lot, which started this chain, is not on FDA’s recall page, and the supplier is not named in FDA’s advisory, in either seed notice, or anywhere else I can find.
The public learned about the seed nine days after FDA’s lab did, and 33 days after the sprouts were recalled.
| Date | What happened | Source |
| July 7 | First illness onset in the broccoli sprout outbreak | CDC |
| Sept 2 | Washington DOH announces 13 sick, broccoli sprouts suspected | WA DOH |
| Sept 4 | Evergreen stops production and recalls broccoli sprouts after a Montana sample tests positive | FDA/CDC, Sept 9 |
| Sept 9 | 22 sick in four states; first federal notices | FDA, CDC |
| Sept 16 | Seed supplier tells EAK there “could be an issue” with lot W4105 and recalls the bulk lot | EAK notice, Oct 2 |
| Sept 24 | 32 sick in six states, 3 hospitalized | FDA, CDC |
| Sept 28 | Supplier tells EAK that FDA found Salmonellain a seed sample | EAK notice, Oct 2 |
| Oct 2 | EAK HOME GROWN seed recall posted | FDA recall page |
| Oct 7 | Eden Brothers seed recall posted; FDA advisory names lot W4105 and the WGS match | FDA recall page; FDA advisory |
Table 1. Timeline of the Evergreen broccoli sprout outbreak and the lot W4105 seed recalls. Sources: FDA advisory and recall notices, CDC and WA DOH pages, as linked, read October 8, 2026. Check: Sept 4 to Oct 7 is 26 days to Sept 30 plus 7 = 33 days; Sept 28 to Oct 7 = 9 days.
Every week the supplier’s name stays out of the advisory is a week in which another packager who bought from the same lot may not have gone looking.
This is the second time in six weeks that FDA has confirmed a seed lot and withheld the supplier.
In the alfalfa sprout outbreak, 76 sick in 16 states, FDA’s advisory says the common seed lot was SAL2-24JB and never names the company that sold it; the name reached the public through the downstream recallers and through Phyllis Entis’s reporting, and I wrote on September 23 that the retail bags of that seed sold in 44 states carry no lot code at all. Here the pattern repeats: the lot number is public, the WGS match is public, two small companies that bought the seed have put their names on recall notices, and the company that grew or imported and sold the contaminated seed is protected by the agency’s silence. Food Safety News noted on October 8 that FDA knows the supplier in both outbreaks and is releasing neither name.
Twenty-four of the 32 sick live in Washington, and the sprout recall could have reached at most seven of them.
Washington’s outbreak page counts 24 cases in nine counties, King County with seven, two hospitalized; the state found the outbreak strain in Evergreen sprouts from a grocery store and from a sick person’s home. As I showed on September 24, the recalled bags were delivered August 24 to September 2, and 25 of the 32 onsets fall on or before August 23. The recall of the sprouts protected the last seven, at most. Marler Clark represents a Washington resident sickened in this outbreak.
Home-sprouted seed is the risk that outlasts the outbreak.
The recalled sprouts carried use-by dates in September and are out of every refrigerator by now. Seed is different. Seed from lot W4105 was sold to home sprouters on Amazon through September 18 and through Eden Brothers until September 28, and a one-pound bag bought in July will be sprouted a few tablespoons at a time for months. Sprouting is exactly the condition, warm and wet for days, that lets a few Salmonella cells on a seed coat multiply into millions, and a home jar does the same thing a commercial drum does. Rinsing does not fix it; the bacteria can sit inside cracks in the seed coat.
Salmonella symptoms start six hours to six days after eating, and some people need a hospital.
Salmonella infection causes diarrhea, which can be bloody, stomach cramps and fever, usually beginning six hours to six days after exposure and lasting four to seven days. Headache, nausea and vomiting are common, and most people recover without treatment. See a doctor if diarrhea lasts more than three days without improving, if there is blood in the stool, if fever rises above 102°F, or if you see signs of dehydration such as little urination, dizziness or a dry mouth; young children dehydrate quickly. Children under five, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have a severe infection that spreads to the bloodstream. A stool test is what confirms the infection and is how a case gets counted in an outbreak, so if you sprouted broccoli seed at home this summer and got sick, ask for one and tell your doctor and local health department what you ate.
What to do if you have broccoli sprouting seed at home.
Check the packet or bag. Eden Brothers lots 1022067 and 1022068 are on the packet or bag; EAK’s lot code, AUG172026, is embossed on the top seal. If you have either, do not plant, sprout, eat or grow microgreens from the seed, and throw away any sprouts already growing from it. Seal the seed in a bag and put it in the trash, not the compost. Wash your hands and the jar, lid, trays and any surface the seed or sprouts touched with hot soapy water, then sanitize them, and tell anyone you shared seed with. Eden Brothers will refund the seed at 855-440-2929 or service@edenbrothers.com; EAK directs Amazon customers to Amazon for a refund and can be reached at 541-306-4278, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific. Raw sprouts from any source remain a risk for young children, older adults, pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system; cooking sprouts thoroughly kills the bacteria.
The fix is a warning on the package, and the comment period on my petition closes October 15.
FDA has told children, older adults, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems to avoid raw sprouts since 1998. Nothing on a bag of sprouts or a packet of sprouting seed says so. I have drafted a citizen petition asking FDA to require that warning on both, and I am taking comments on the draft through October 15 before I file it. Three outbreaks from one company since 2011, 108 people sick from sprouts this summer, and a seed supplier no one will name make the case for the label better than I can.
Which broccoli seeds are recalled for Salmonella?
Two home-sprouting products from supplier lot W4105: Eden Brothers Calabrese Broccoli Seeds, packet, 1 oz and 1 lb, lots 1022067 and 1022068, sold on EdenBrothers.com and Amazon July 8 to September 28, 2026, recalled October 7; and EAK Distribution HOME GROWN Green Sprouting Calabrese Broccoli Seeds, 8 oz, lot AUG172026, sold on Amazon August 20 to September 18, recalled October 2.
Is the Evergreen Fresh Sprouts Salmonella outbreak over?
No. As of October 7, 2026, FDA and CDC list it as ongoing: 32 sick in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington, three hospitalized, no deaths, with the last reported illness starting September 3. FDA has matched seed lot W4105 to the outbreak strain. The recalled sprouts are past their use-by dates, but recalled seed may still be in homes. No illnesses have been reported from either seed recall.
Can I wash or cook the seed and still use it?
No. FDA says do not plant, sprout, eat or grow microgreens from recalled seed. Washing does not remove Salmonella from inside a seed coat, and sprouting conditions let the bacteria multiply. Throw it away sealed in the trash and request a refund.
Salmonella
Salmonella is a group of bacteria behind one of the most common, and most deadly, foodborne infections in the United States, and it is the leading cause of foodborne hospitalizations and deaths in the country. Symptoms usually appear 6 hours to 6 days after eating contaminated food and include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps lasting four to seven days. Some people go on to develop reactive arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome that lasts long after the infection is over.
Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, is the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of Salmonellaoutbreaks. The Salmonella attorneys of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims of Salmonella and other foodborne illness outbreaks and have recovered over $850 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. Our Salmonellalawyers have litigated Salmonella cases stemming from outbreaks traced to poultry, eggs, ground beef, produce, sprouts, peanut butter, flour and pet food, against defendants that include some of the largest food companies in the country. The firm represented victims of the Peanut Corporation of America outbreak, whose owner was criminally convicted and sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison, and it continues to press USDA to declare Salmonella an adulterant in raw chicken.
If you or a family member became ill with a Salmonella infection, including reactive arthritis or irritable bowel syndrome, after consuming food and you are interested in pursuing a legal claim, contact the Marler Clark Salmonella attorneys for a free case evaluation at 1-800-884-9840.
FAQ
What is Salmonella? Salmonella is a group of bacteria that live in the intestines of animals and people and spread to food through contaminated water, animal products and food handlers. Infection is called salmonellosis.
What foods cause Salmonella outbreaks? Poultry, eggs, ground beef, raw milk, produce such as sprouts and sprouting seed, melons, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and peppers, peanut butter, flour, spices and even pet food have all caused outbreaks.
Can Salmonella cause long-term problems? Yes. Some people develop reactive arthritis, with joint pain that lasts months or years, or irritable bowel syndrome. In severe cases the bacteria spread to the bloodstream, bones, joints or brain.
Who is most at risk? Children under five, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are the most likely to be hospitalized.
Can I sue if I got sick from Salmonella? Yes. If your infection is confirmed by a stool culture and linked to a contaminated product or a recognized outbreak, you may have a claim against the businesses that made, served or sold the food. Marler Clark offers a free case evaluation.
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