The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control published a report that Public health and food safety authorities across Europe are investigating prolonged and widespread outbreaks of Salmonella infection linked to the consumption of sprouted alfalfa seeds. Between January 2023 and January 2025, 509 people were reported with salmonellosis in nine EU/EEA countries. The most affected country was Norway, with 257 cases, followed by Sweden, Finland, and Germany. The outbreak is ongoing, and cases of salmonellosis may continue to be found until the point(s) where the seeds were contaminated is identified and properly controlled. Investigations have confirmed that sprouted seeds are the cause of these infections. As a result of epidemiological investigations, including WGS analysis and food tracing, seeds were linked to a single supplier in Italy, which sourced its seeds from three growers in the same region. However, further investigation is needed to determine how the seeds became contaminated and whether there was any cross-contamination along the supply chain. This outbreak has included multiple Salmonella strains, some of which are rarely seen in Europe. By sharing information from national outbreak investigations at EU level, specifically WGS data, it was possible to link the investigations to a single source. @ https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-outbreak-assessment-prolonged-cross-border-multi-serovar-salmonella
