Salmonellosis from Alfalfa Sprouts is Minuscule in Comparison to Other Foods

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Salmonellosis from Alfalfa Sprouts is Minuscule in Comparison to Other Foods

JoAnn Guest

Feb 22, 2005 19:14 PST

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JAMA Unnecessarily Scares Consumers With 'Old News' Incidence of

Salmonellosis from Alfalfa Sprouts is Minuscule in Comparison

to Other Foods

By Steve Meyerowitz,

 

In its January 10th 1999 issue, the Journal of the American Medical

Association (JAMA) described two incidences of Salmonella contamination

from alfalfa sprouts that took place in 1995. Many regulations and

industry corrections have taken place since then which have made sprouts

safe. While it is true that alfalfa sprouts pose a risk because they are

not sterilized by cooking, historically, the numbers of incidents and

numbers of people affected by sprout borne salmonellosis run far below

the risk of common foods such as meat, poultry, and milk.

 

In its 40 year history, only twelve incidents of bacterial infection in

sprouts have been recorded, and nine of them came from the same seed

source.

 

The contaminated seed was imported from the Netherlands. All alfalfa

seeds since then have been subject to strict scrutiny and purification

by both importers and growers. The sprout industry today is in full

compliance with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the US

Department of Agriculture (USDA).

 

The FDA has since reclassified sprouters from 'farmers' to 'food

processors.' This designation demands strict regulation of growers for

eliminating potentially infectious conditions throughout sprout growing

and packaging. Currently, growers use a chlorination process, similar to

how the nation's water supplies are treated. It is approved by the CDC

for its safety and effectiveness. Growers are also researching

alternative processes that could achieve even better purification.

 

Sprout contamination, however, makes sensational news because:

 

a) Prior to 1995, the tiny sprout industry was unknown to the CDC and

USDA. Its discovery attracted attention.

 

b) The USDA and CDC took a greater interest in sprouts, because the

growing conditions for seeds are also favorable growing conditions for

bacteria and because as a raw food, sprouts do not benefit from

sterilization by cooking. Common garden vegetable seeds are also subject

to these same risks.

 

c) Sprouts are also newsworthy because it is a legendary health food. It

is an irony for a health food to be the cause of ill health.

 

Unlike other industries, such as meat, poultry, and tobacco, the tiny

$250 million dollar sprout industry has no public relations firm or

Washington lobbyists to defend itself.

 

The industry is woefully ineffective in telling its side of the story.

 

Balancing The Risks to Public Health

 

Any infectious outbreak is scary news. But in order to avoid a panic

that propels a problem out of proportion, we must understand its risks

compared with other risks.

 

According to the USDA, salmonella contamination from foods such as

poultry, meat, eggs and fresh produce sickens 4 million people annually

in the U.S. Only 700 people reported salmonellosis in the two 1995

sprout incidents described in the JAMA article. But the article

estimates that up to 20,000 people were probably affected.

 

According to the FDA, 93% of all bacterial illnesses from human and

animal pathogens come from meat, poultry and dairy. While fatalities are

rare, in 1995, the same year as the reported sprout cases, the CDC

documented 15 fatalities caused by reactions to foods such as peanuts,

milk, eggs and shellfish.

 

Every year, there are an estimated 9,000 deaths and 81 million illnesses

due to unsafe foods. (Wall Street Journal 8/21/9 There have never been

any fatalities from sprouts.

 

In 1997, Cox Newspapers analyzed a USDA computerized database of meat

and poultry inspection records for 1996 and found 138,593 instances in

which inspectors said food being prepared in packing plants was

" certain " to sicken consumers. The database was obtained under the

Freedom of Information Act.

 

The risks of contracting salmonellosis from alfalfa sprouts is small and

probably akin to the proverbial analogy " getting hit by a car crossing

the street. "

 

But there are greater and more troubling infection risks threatening

consumers today that are not even food related.

 

According to William Jarvis of the CDC, each year about 2 million people

acquire infections while under care in U.S. hospitals and nearly 90,000

die of them. (Based on a 1998 survey of 265 U.S. hospitals)

 

Why Eat Sprouts

 

Sprouts are a nutritionally concentrated, pesticide-free, locally grown,

fresh produce available year round. The National Cancer institute and

the National Institutes of Health recommend Americans eat 5 vegetable

meals each day. With the increasing cost of fresh produce, the

diminishing acreage of farmland, and the greater dependence on imported

produce, sprouted foods from local farmers have become a viable

alternative source of nutritious, affordable mini-vegetables.

 

The anti-cancer benefits of sprouts were well documented by researchers

at Johns Hopkins University in August of 1997. 'Kitchen gardening' is

also a fun, nutritious way for consumers to garden year round making

families more self-sufficient and saving on the grocery bill.

 

While the U.S. food and water supply will never be completely free of

harmful bacteria, eating alfalfa sprouts is healthier and statistically

safer than eating meat, dairy or poultry. Despite the numbers, most

Americans can have confidence that their food supply is safe.

 

To that end, sprout growers continue to comply with CDC and USDA

regulations to ensure the production of safe, healthy, and delicious

sprouts.

 

Also available: How to Develop an 'Inner Defense' to Protect against

Contaminated Food and Water. Steve Meyerowitz is the author of Sprouts

the Miracle Food and other books on diet and health. He is not a

commercial sprout grower. January 15, 1999

 

Sproutman Publications. PO Box 1100. Great Barrington, MA 01230.

413-528-5200x4. Fax 413-528-5201.

Sprou- Or go to Sproutman.com

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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