Heather Tuttle, Iowa Woman, Sues Jimmy John's Over Tainted Sprouts

IOWA CITY, Iowa — An Iowa woman sickened by eating tainted sprouts filed a lawsuit Tuesday against sandwich chain Jimmy John's, the first stemming from a recent outbreak of a foodborne illness linked to the restaurant.

Heather Tuttle, 27, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Des Moines seeking damages for medical expenses and pain and suffering. She became ill with E. coli poisoning after eating a turkey sandwich with sprouts from a Jimmy John's restaurant in West Des Moines on Jan. 3. Tuttle eventually required a series of medical treatments for the illness, which included excruciating cramps and diarrhea.

Tuttle is one of 12 people in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Wisconsin – all female – whose recent E. coli poisoning has been linked to raw clover sprouts served at Jimmy John's. The illnesses occurred between Dec. 25 and Jan. 15. Two of the victims were hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that a preliminary investigation identified a common lot of clover seeds that were used to grow the tainted sprouts. The CDC said the seed supplier had warned sprouting facilities to stop using them.

A spokeswoman for Jimmy John's, which is based in Champaign, Ill., said the company had no comment.

The lawsuit claims the recent outbreak is the fifth of either E. coli or salmonella poisoning since 2008 linked to sprouts served at Jimmy John's. More than 400 customers across the country have been sickened. A spokesman for Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that specializes in food safety cases, said Tuttle's lawsuit is the first from this specific outbreak but the firm is also representing other customers who were sickened.

Tuttle's lawsuit seeks to hold Jimmy John's liable for selling "unreasonably dangerous" food and negligence for failing to comply with health and safety laws.

Federal regulators warn against eating raw sprouts, which are one of the most frequent perpetrators of foodborne illness. Though they are often touted as a health food, sprouts grow in warm and humid conditions, which encourage bacterial growth.

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Comments

[nikkitytom]

05:39 AM on 02/23/2012

Why anyone would touch a spout is beyond me. They're little germ vehicles. The only safe sprouts are ones you sprout at home. And be sure to change the water once a day.

I am also amazed at the bags of cut salad being sold in supermarkets. Surely people can see how easily these can be contaminated.

I lived for twenty years in India where I dodged cholera, typhoid, dysentry ... and came close to meeting my Maker a couple of times. Fresh produce was an absolute taboo. I even eventually learned to peel my own fruit and veggies and not consume anything outside my home which wasn't cooked. And still got sick.

I expected to be safe here in America. Not so. I have been sickened often in restaurants ..... nearly always by produce. Fresh herbs and lettuces tucked into sandwiches and salads are the culprit in most cases. I never touch whipped cream or custard ... ever ... anywhere. The worst offenders are medium-priced restaurants. Fast food places won't risk law suits. Luxury restaurants don't want to ruin their reputation. But the mid-range are the most risky.

Ironically with all the bavarcation about "veggies" .... the fact is they're making a lot of us sick. And I've never been sick from MacDonalds or Wendy's.

[Penelope Fenwick]

02:42 AM on 02/23/2012

Gosh darned tainted sprouts!!

[Jackie1992]

01:58 AM on 02/23/2012

THERE HAVE BEEN MANY REPORTS LATELY ABOUT TAINTED SPROUTS, DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE USING THEM IN RESTAURANTS TO THIS DAY

[Eileen Gavitt Lester]

11:16 PM on 02/22/2012

Here we go.....................................lawsuit city...

[sjk09s]

11:04 PM on 02/22/2012

Too bad, I think the clover sprouts taste good on their sandwiches. Now I don't feel good about eating them anymore. Seriously, if it's not tainted green onions, it's tomatoes and don't forget the spinach scare 2 years ago. All restaurants are at risk, not just Jimmie Johns.

[dougdammit]

10:21 PM on 02/22/2012

Just sue sue sue
cause if i don't I'll be blue
I want some money
for my honey
So I'll sue sue sue

[joynerz]

09:43 PM on 02/22/2012

Sprouts take a lot out of the soil, bad and good, and they spoil very easily

[info397]

08:44 PM on 02/22/2012

hello

[info397]

08:39 PM on 02/22/2012

this is not surprising that it is not subway.the law only requires one person to be certified to handle food.these franchises are opening everywhere like the subways etc.they sale these to people and
take so much of the sales they have to cut corners to make a big buck.the meats and vegtables
sit around for days because they want to control cost and not throw away.if you have every worked in a store where one of this are you know what i mean.these places are nasty and even their own employees wont eat there

[chapython]

01:12 AM on 02/23/2012

And you are an experet on this and know it because you???

[info397]

02:46 PM on 02/23/2012

yes i am.go see it for your self

[Kevin73]

07:13 PM on 02/23/2012

you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.....

tainted vegetables are rarely if ever the result of restaurant or employee negligence...they are usually pre-wash, pre-cleaned, already processed ready to serve foods that are contaminated at the source.

Jimmy Johns is no more to blame here than Taco Bell was with green onions....these items are served raw and the only way to kill the organisms completely is through cooking.

The law states (in some states) that a person in charge or manager that is certified in food handling be on premise at all times....not just one for the whole restaurant ever.

[info397]

09:44 PM on 02/23/2012

you dont know what you are talking about.those resturants cut corners all the time.their nasty and the food is nasty.and i was bringing attention to all the chains not just one.
if you really knew what went on in those places you would not eat there

[flyinghigh0905]

01:16 PM on 02/22/2012

This is interesting to me. I used to work at a Jimmy johns. My store at least was good about not selling things that could possibly be tainted, such as the tomato problem a few years ago, and I think at one time we stopped serving sprouts for a while until we got the all clear. But who knows. Each store is run by a different person, so their opinions about when to and not to serve certain foods might be different.

[Kevin73]

07:15 PM on 02/23/2012

There is no way to know that the sroputs had been tainted.....sprouts are not washed when they are recieved in store typically and even if they were it would not eliminate the e coli.

[ndtovent]

12:57 PM on 02/22/2012

I've heard for years that one of the most dangerous foods for bacteria are fresh bean sprouts. We should stay away from them completely unless we grow them ourselves. For those who just have to have them, use canned sprouts. At least those heated to a temperature which kills the bacteria during the canning process. NEver eat fresh bean sprouts that you didn't grow yourself.

[cyoohoos]

01:12 PM on 02/22/2012

I love sprouts. I was shocked to hear how dangerous they were. It's easy to do this myself, so I'll start doing that now.

[nitroreefclub]

03:43 AM on 02/23/2012

with all the warnings about fresh sprouts I would think the eater had some responsibility as in they know the risk they ate them anyway you did not die you went on a crash diet for a few days lost some weight and should get over it.

[rivercathollow]

04:57 AM on 02/23/2012

40 years ago, I got an E. coli infection. I have never been so sick (I have also had heart surgery, and another surgery, but I did not have the horrible suffering I had with this). People _die from E. coli. I don't know whether your comment was ill-informed sarcasm, or whether you really meant it. Regardless, I hope you nor any of your family every gets this. It is far more than just an upset stomach for a few days. I had to be hospitalized, and even spent a couple of days in intensive care. It is not a subject for humor.

[takethetime]

12:09 PM on 02/22/2012

You would have thought they learned the first around to stop using sprouts but nooooo
they turn around and say so what if it's health hazard we're going to keep doing it.
Good PR Jimmy Johns....real good

[jpclarksville]

11:32 AM on 02/22/2012

It's been known for YEARS that sprouts are one of the worst things you can eat because of the e.coli bacteria. I don't know why restaurants bother with them anymore. I love alfalfa sprouts, but I only eat the ones that I have spouted, I never buy them in the store and never, ever get them at a restaurant.

[R4Facts]

08:52 AM on 02/22/2012

People should stop eating at these processed, GMO food establishments because this is just ONE of many health problems people are subjected to when eating this crap! Eat 100% organic, whole foods....raw foods....prepared your meals at home!

[Kevin73]

07:17 PM on 02/23/2012

You arent making your point here...organic food is grown in pure manure which is riddled with e coli. Organic srpouts are even more likely to sicken people than factory farm grown ones.

get a clue.

[R4Facts]

09:23 PM on 02/23/2012

Again, the simple solution is to avoid this problem and not eat that crap because it's NOT food and their products are a playground for everything harmful to the human body. By the way, all organic food is NOT 100% organic! I've been eating a raw food diet for over 40 years...never a concern with E. Coli & never will....

[Loveme95]

02:17 AM on 02/22/2012

I wonder what produce company supplied them they are liable too...

[flyinghigh0905]

01:15 PM on 02/22/2012

I believe they get that stuff through sysco.

[info397]

08:41 PM on 02/22/2012

i think they came from india