Alfalfa sprouts recalled by L.A.-area firm after salmonella outbreak

A Los Angeles County firm issued a nationwide recall of alfalfa sprouts Friday after a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 20 people in 10 states.

“We’re very sorry that this has happened,” said Maurie Thomas, general manager at Maywood-based Caldwell Fresh Foods. “Alfalfa sprouts are strictly controlled” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “We follow all of their guidelines to a T.”

The alfalfa sprouts were grown in Maywood and sold at supermarkets and restaurants around the country, including at certain Trader Joe’s and Wal-Mart locations in California.

The recalled sprouts were packaged in four-ounce plastic cups and one-pound plastic bags under the Caldwell Fresh Foods brand; four-ounce plastic cups under the Nature’s Choice brand; five-ounce plastic clamshell containers under the California Exotics brand; and two-pound and five-pound plastic bags in cardboard boxes with a Caldwell sticker.

Health officials said consumers should throw away the sprouts or take them back to the place of purchase for a refund.

Thomas said federal and state health officials visited the company Thursday to test for traces of salmonella, including taking samples of finished products and swabs of facility equipment.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Of the consumers reported as getting sick, one was an infant in Oregon and 11 were from California, the company said. Four people were hospitalized.

andrea.chang@latimes.com