According to multiple news reports, on Saturday German scientists identified the source of the deadly E. coli O104:H4 outbreak around Hamburg, Germany, as bean sprouts not hamburgers, lettuce, tomato, or cucumbers. No surprise to anybody who pays attention to food safety issues.
Update 6/6 3:00 p.m. CSTThe German authorities are still unsure of the source of the outbreak. It may still be sprouts, lettuce, cukes, or tomatoes, but it may not be the sprouter they fingered at first. Tracebacks of this sort are very tricky. They have to match DNA fingerprints and there's a lot of testing to be done.Regardless, the incident should be a HUGE red flag to consumers and stores. Sprouts are high risk food. As I read the comments below it is shocking how many people are in denial. It reminds me of when seatbelts were first required. Listen to the scientists at FDA if you won't listen to me: "Like any fresh produce that is consumed raw or lightly cooked, sprouts carry a risk of foodborne illness. Unlike other fresh produce, seeds and beans need warm and humid conditions to sprout and grow. However, these conditions are also ideal for the growth of bacteria, including Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli. "Rinsing sprouts first will not remove bacteria. Home-grown sprouts also present a health risk if they are eaten raw or lightly cooked. "Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts). "Cook sprouts thoroughly to reduce the risk of illness. Cooking kills the harmful bacteria. "Request that raw sprouts not be added to your food. If you purchase a sandwich or salad at a restaurant or delicatessen, check to make sure that raw sprouts have not been added." Update 6/7 8:30 a.m. CSTI have just been shown an article by Bill Marler, Food Safety attorney featured in Food Inc. He quotes Mike Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. "I consider sprouts to be among the most risky foods sold at retail." Marler proposes that sprouts be given the raw milk treatment: Make them illegal for interstate commerce. Of course this will not stop them from intrastate commerce or home growing, but it would go a long way to protecting the public. I would prefer to see groceries simply drop the product with the best interests of their customers in mind.Eating raw sprouts is like eating raw beef. Don't do it! |
There have been at least 30 outbreaks in the US alone since 1990 sickening more than 2000 people according to Bill Marler, a personal injury and products liability attorney who tracks sprout outbreaks. Radish sprouts caused one of the world's largest food-borne illness outbreaks in Japan in 1996, sickening about 10,000 people, many of them children.
How could this be? How could innocent crunchy, juicy, delicious sprouts be dangerous? Think about it. Sprouts are made by harvesting seeds from an open field where they are easily contaminated by Bambi, Porky, Bugs, Tweetie, Mickey & Minnie, and other cute little critters who refuse to use sanitary stations to do their business.
Or they can be contaminated by irrigation water from animal waste runoff, human waste, or even manure. Yes, organic foodies, manure is an easy source of contamination. It is supposed to be sterilized, but many organic growers try to sterilize it naturally by just stirring the compost pile and hoping that the heat in the center kills the bugs. Good luck with that.
Worse still, many of our sprout seeds are imported from countries that don't have water cleanliness regs as strict as ours, which are faaaar from perfect. They may be bagged in burlap and munched on by rats in the ships' holds or in warehouses.
When it is time to turn them from seeds to sprouts, they are brought indoors, soaked in water, and kept warm so the seed will germinate. Pretty quickly the cells of the seed start multiplying rapidly because these are perfect growing conditions. But not just for sprouts. For bacteria too. Sprouting systems are like incubators, and it is very hard to prevent microbes from growing. They've tried chlorinated water or other purifying systems with only limited success, but so far there has been no solution.
Then they are bagged and shipped to stores where the bad guys can keep on growing, especially if the truck is not cold enough, or if they sit on the loading dock a while. A food safety scientist I know calls the packaging a "germ culture chamber". And before you know it, people are falling face down in their salads.
Of course they could be made perfectly safe by cooking, but then they lose their crunch and much of their appeal. Irradiation will clean them up, but everyone who thinks that will be a hit with sprout lovers raise your hands. I don't see any hands yet. I must confess I love raw sprouts, but I'm probably the only one who is not afraid of irradiation.
And don't think that growing them yourself is much safer. You will be buying the same seeds, possibly covered with dormant pathogens, and as soon as you wet them and warm them, lookout.
Examination of seeds in previously unopened home sprouting kits revealed that the soy, mustard, and cress seeds were contaminated with Bacillus cereus among other bugs. In 1987, Harmon et al recovered B. cereus from 57% of commercially sold alfalfa, mung bean, and wheat seeds intended for sprout production so the problem has been around a while.
A year ago tainted alfalfa sprouts were sold by Walmart and 22 people got sick. How much longer will Walmart sell sprouts? My bet is they'll discontinue them within two weeks, as soon as sprouts are lead pipe confirmed as the German outbreak source.
And don't try to pin this on Food Inc. and big ag like ConAgra or Monsanto. Most sprouts are grown by small farmers, and the sad part of this story is that, if, as I predict, groceries will stop carrying sprouts, a lot of Mom & Pop farmers will join the unemployed.
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Products such as this one, also play a significant role in food security as they can reduce food waste along with removing the food pathogens. Shelf life can be extended from 2 to 10 times, depending on the product and many manufacturers are already enjoying the benefits from this natural product.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/10/sprouts-caused-e-coli-outbreak-germany_n_874689.html#comments
I know it can solve this problem in other food types.
Guess we will be foregoing it now!
Big agro, is probably using the same wash water for all their produce and some of their meats (Do they "sterilize the water between uses ?) They are about $$$ not safety. Fines to them are a cost of doing business.
I wonder if mixing them with a ton of garlic (natural antibiotic) would help reduce the microbial load.
I'm not trying to freak you out, but I am not sure that this necessarily will improve matters. I don't know enough.
HOWEVER (or, caveat emptor) you need to practice good cooking technique and good aseptic technique. In other words, treat it like chicken. Clean thoroughly, cook thoroughly and be cautious about what it comes into contact with.
If that's too much work, just give 'em up. I will personally take the chance, but when my baby starts eating solids, that won't be on her menu until she's a teenager (maybe.)
Heirlooms are not a "plant variety" but more the original plants before being hybred. I know this because I took four years of plant biology/breeding classes in college.
Take care!
http://www.naturalnews.com/025957_meat_cancer_disease.html
According to the National Cancer Institute, meat consumption was responsible for 75,000 deaths
in a 10 year period.
Billions of animals suffer and die needlessly to provide the tables of people who are actually
made worse off for consuming flesh.
All diets cause animal deaths. In fact, the animals I actually eat are but a tiny percentage of those killed to feed me. How many animals are killed to produce a banana? We know beyond the shadow of a doubt that many animals are killed when land is cleared and plowed to grow crops. Other animals are killed when waterways are polluted due to pesticide and fertilizer runoff. Whole coral reefs have been killed due to banana production. Other animals--innocent herbivores--are killed because they are threatening crops that are intended for human use only.
Given that all diets kill animals, what each of us chooses to eat is nothing more than a personal dietary choice. You seem to be very grossed out by meat, and very squeamish about the idea of eating it. Unfortunately for you, you can't force me to have the same emotional response to eating meat that you have. Sorry about that! I raise sheep and poultry for meat for myself and my family, I find it delicious, I know it's healthy, and none of that is ever going to change. Have a great day, though! :)
I'm with you, but recognize contaminated water(arrigation..NOT irrigation); ergo, my broken record to give all an inexpensive way to feel okay eating sprouts, lettuce, even meat..
Again, used in Mexico, Turkey, many countries...just rinse well after soaking!
http://theÂfitnesschrÂonicle.comÂ/the-cloroÂx-bath-can
I posted yesterday that I make my own sprouts and have never had a problem but that post never saw the light of day...
Since e-coli is a bacteria from animal feces I could only guess that the problem was contamination and not from the product itself. So I contacted the website I have bought sprout seeds from and their response was: "We have a combined business of 25 years and we have never had the problem. Viruses need a cholesterol envelope in order to survive. There is no cholestorol in plants---just animals."
So is the only way to get e-coli from sprouts is if they are contaminated either in cleaning or perhaps the vessel they are grown in? We are very conscientious about cleaning surfaces, hands and cross-contamination.
Are there any other measures I should take to ensure my families safety when growing my own sprouts?
The answer to your question is above. It is almost impossible to prevent contamination from wildlife, and water contamination is also a possibility in the field. If the seeds you buy are contaminated, and it is impossible to say they are not, you risk your family's health.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Escherichia_coli