FDA Expands Salmonella Bovismorbificans Outbreak to Broccoli Sprouts and Microgreens After Strain Is Detected in Seed Sample

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated on October 7, 2026 its notice on the Salmonella Bovismorbificans outbreak linked to sprouts. With this update, the investigation was expanded to broccoli sprouts and microgreens grown from the same contaminated seed lot. The agency reported that a sample of those seeds, analyzed by the FDA itself, tested positive, and that whole genome sequencing showed it matches the strain making people sick. The seed supplier withdrew the lot from the market.

The case count stands at 32 ill people, with 3 hospitalizations and no deaths, across six states: Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The most recent illness reported began on September 3, and the notice does not break down cases by state. The outbreak was made public on September 9 with 22 ill people in four states, linked to broccoli sprouts from a single producer that withdrew its product on September 4. On September 24 the count rose to 32 cases, and sprout samples collected in the state of Washington matched the outbreak strain. The FDA keeps the investigation open and has not named the seed supplier.

The change in the October 7 update is the starting point of the problem. Until then the focus was on a single sprout producer; with a positive seed, the origin shifts to the seed lot, which may have been used by other growers and by consumers who sprout seeds at home. For that reason the agency asks people not to use the recalled broccoli seeds, and asks anyone who bought or received them to clean and disinfect the surfaces and containers they touched. Symptoms, which usually appear 12 to 72 hours after exposure and last four to seven days, include diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain, with a higher risk of serious illness in children under five, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Sprouted products are a classic case of risk that originates in the seed: germination occurs under warm, humid conditions that favor the multiplication of Salmonella, and subsequent washing does not eliminate it. To verify Salmonella spp. in food and on surfaces, TAAG's Specio 1.1 kit uses real-time PCR with melting curve. Seeds for germination and sprouts are not a validated matrix, and the fruit and vegetable sector is not among the kit's industries, so the link is indirect and its use would require its own validation; moreover, the news describes an official investigation and not an analysis done with the kit.