Thought you'd like to see this ProMED posting, which was lurking in
my in-basket from last week.
Note that the Oregon/CDC study speculates that it is structural
characteristics of alfalfa seeds that make chemical treatment
ineffective. Thus the question here isn't whether organic sprouts are
the problem--i.e., untreated seed--but whether the seed is exposed
to contaminants.
An entrepreneurial opportunity, eh?
peace
mish
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SALMONELLA, RISK FROM ALFALFA SPROUTS
*************************************
A ProMED-mail post
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 09:51:42 -0800
From: James Chin, CDPC-mail
Source: Nando Media 13 Jan 1999
Alfalfa sprouts bear high _Salmonella_ risk, researchers report
Food poisoning outbreaks in the United States and Europe show alfalfa
sprouts are an inherent and high-risk source of _Salmonella_
infections, researchers said in a report published Tuesday. "Until
barriers to a pathogen-free seed are resolved we conclude that
alfalfa sprouts are a high-risk food for salmonellosis. All
consumers, particularly those at greatest risk for severe disease
(immunosuppressed, elderly and very young people) should consider
this danger when deciding whether to eat alfalfa sprouts," the
report said.
"The fundamental problem is that the (commercial) sprouting process
contains no 'kill step' that would eliminate pathogens without
compromising a seed's germination potential," said the study from the
State of Oregon Health Division and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The authors of the study speculated that _Salmonella_
organisms reside in seed crevices between the cotyledon and testa, an
area that chemical treatments do not penetrate. Seeds are often
stored for months or years under cool, dry conditions in which
_Salmonella_ bacteria are stable. During the three to five-day
sprouting period the bacteria can increase in number three to four
times, the report said.
"From farm to table, many opportunities exist for contamination of
alfalfa seeds or sprouts. Crops can be easily contaminated with
dirty water, runoff form adjacent farms, animal fertilisers used in
previous growing seasons or droppings from rodents or ruminants," it
added. The study, published in this week's Journal of the American
Medical Association, was based on a look at alfalfa sprout salmonella
outbreaks in 1995-96 in Oregon and British Columbia, and a similar
incident in Denmark in 1995.
In North America, the report said, more than 20,000 people contracted
_Salmonella_ infections from alfalfa sprouts in 1995. _Salmonella_
infections typically cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain
and, in severe cases, muscle paralysis, shock and collapse.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On the Borscht Scale, zero being NO BORSCHT and
10 being BORSCHT-O-PLENTY, I give them a big zero.
Keep in mind that I don't like borscht, so zero
is good. --Mister 3D
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