Sandwich Chain Jimmy John's In Hot Water With FDA

Jimmy John's received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in which the sandwich chain was blasted for a pattern of selling poor quality food, according to Food Business News.

What Happened

The FDA said in a letter dated Feb. 25 the restaurant sandwich chain is "engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers." The letter added Jimmy John's pattern dates back seven years across at least 17 states which implies control mechanisms in place for receiving fresh produce "are inadequate."

Most recently, 22 people in Iowa were infected with a strain of E. coli and the state's Department of Public Health interviewed 20 of these people. Each and everyone stated they ate at one or more Jimmy John's restaurants.

Why It's Important

In fact, the FDA noted it met with the company in May 2012 to discuss concerns related to its clover sprouts. But since then the company has been "implicated in three additional sprout-related outbreaks."

"Although you stated that corrective actions were implemented following the 2019 and 2012 outbreaks, you have not provided FDA with any information demonstrating long-term, sustainable corrections have been implemented throughout your organization to prevent this violation from recurring in the future," according to the letter.

According to Food Business News, the sandwich chain was given 15 days to respond to the letter.

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Screengrab of JimmyJohns.com