Food safety attorney Bill Marler released a draft citizen petition on September 29 asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to mandate warning labels on raw and lightly cooked sprouts, citing two simultaneous outbreaks that have sickened 87 people across 19 states. The petition, open for public comment through October 9, directly affects foodservice operators and retailers that serve or merchandise raw sprouts — including sandwich chains, salad bars, sushi counters, and natural-food grocers.
The Outbreak Numbers
Two active investigations drive the filing. Alfalfa sprouts grown in Minnesota have been linked to 55 illnesses in 15 states with four hospitalizations; broccoli sprouts from Idaho are tied to 32 illnesses in six states with three hospitalizations, per CDC's September 24 update. A September 10 broccoli-sprout recall covered product delivered between August 24 and September 2, yet CDC data show 25 of the 32 patients were already ill before August 23 — underscoring the challenge of recall timing in fresh produce supply chains. An Ohio seed company separately recalled 950 pounds of alfalfa seed sold to home sprouters in 44 states; the bags carried no lot code, complicating traceback.
FDA's own ledger shows contaminated sprouts caused 52 outbreaks and more than 2,700 illnesses in the United States between 1996 and 2020, with contaminated seed identified as the probable source of most events. The agency has advised children, the elderly, pregnant women, and immunocompromised consumers to avoid raw sprouts since 1998 — in press releases, consumer booklets, and its Model Food Code — but that language has never appeared on a commercial package.
What the Petition Requires
Marler Clark, Inc., PS, based in Bainbridge Island, Washington, is asking FDA to amend 21 CFR 101.17 — the regulation that already mandates warning statements on unpasteurized juice, iron-containing supplements, and shell eggs — by adding a sprout-specific paragraph. The proposed boxed WARNING statement would name Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria and note that bacteria may be lodged inside the seed, beyond the reach of washing. Sprouts treated by a validated pathogen-reduction process would be exempt, mirroring the exemption that applies to pasteurized juice today.
The labeling obligation would extend well beyond retail bags. Under the petition, the same statement would be required on point-of-sale signage wherever sprouts are sold loose, on online product listings, and on seed sold at retail for home sprouting. For foodservice operators — including restaurants, hotel breakfast programs, and grab-and-go delis that feature sprouts on sandwiches, grain bowls, or raw bars — menu or counter signage would be mandatory. Marler is seeking a final rule effective 60 days after publication and is asking FDA to urge sellers to adopt the statement voluntarily once a proposed rule is issued, as the agency did with juice warnings in 1998.
"Twenty-eight years is long enough for the package to say nothing," said Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. "The shopper in the grocery store deserves the same information the patient in the nursing home already gets." FDA's Food Code has kept raw sprouts off menus at hospitals, nursing homes, and day care centers since 1999.
Operator and Supply-Chain Implications
For the broader fresh-produce supply chain and its foodservice customers, the petition signals mounting regulatory pressure on ambient-temperature sprouting operations — a segment that relies on warm, moist conditions inherently favorable to pathogen amplification. Traceability gaps exposed by the lot-code-free Ohio seed recall illustrate the difficulty buyers face in executing targeted withdrawals. Operators sourcing sprouts for salad and fresh-ingredient programs should review supplier verification protocols and ingredient-level traceability documentation in anticipation of potential rulemaking.
FDA has 180 days to respond once the petition is formally filed. The public comment window at Marler Blog closes October 9; a revised draft will be posted before formal submission to FDA's citizen petition docket. Comments may be submitted directly to FDA at regulations.gov after filing.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
