Three Scott County residents are among 34 Iowans stricken by Salmonella St. Paul, a bacterial illness recently found in sprouts.

Scott County Health Department investigators discovered that the affected individuals all ate sprouts at an area restaurant, but no clear-cut link could be made between their illness and that business, said Jackie Hall, a spokesperson for the department. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, announced March 3 a recall of alfalfa sprouts, onion sprouts and gourmet sprouts because of a possible health risk. Several cases of Salmonella St. Paul were reported in Nebraska and Iowa, and the supplier, SunSprout Enterprises Inc. of Omaha, Neb., voluntarily recalled its product.

However, those warnings came after the area restaurant had unknowingly served sprouts supplied by the Omaha firm and also after the three customers had eaten the affected food items, Hall said. “The restaurant would not have had the information at the time to know sprouts were a concern,” she added.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes-fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and those with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea — which may be bloody — nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The products from SunSprout Enterprises in question were sold to distributors in Iowa and Nebraska who then sold the products to restaurants and retail stores.

Scott County health officials saw the FDA warning on sprouts and took the initiative to call area restaurants that sell sprouts, usually in deli-style sandwiches. “We tried to contact all who served them to make sure they were aware of the FDA recall,” county food inspector Lindsay Gorishek said. 

According to the FDA, any sprouts in four-ounce, clear plastic clamshell containers from SunSprout Enterprises should be discarded if they have not been already. They have “best if sold by” dates of March 2, 4, 7, 9, 11 and 14.