Low levels of Salmonella in sprouted chia can cause big problems (I miss Phil Hartman)

Despite the increasing popularity of sprouted chia and flax seed powders, no data have been reported on their intrinsic physicochemical properties and background microflora.

chiahead11Here, we report the moisture content, water activity, pH, and fatty acid methyl ester and bacteriological profiles of 19 sprouted chia and flax seed samples, 10 of which were associated with an outbreak of salmonellosis in Canada and the United States. The physicochemical parameters of the Salmonella-positive samples did not differ significantly from those of the negative samples. However, the higher Enterobacteriaceae and coliform levels on the contaminated powders were associated with the presence of Salmonella. Enumeration of Salmonella by the most probable number (MPN) method revealed concentrations ranging from 1 MPN per 3 g of powder to 1 MPN per 556 g of powder.

The results of this study demonstrate that low numbers of Salmonella may be linked to foodborne outbreaks.

Physicochemical and bacteriological characteristics of organic sprouted chia and flax seed powders implicated in a foodborne salmonellosis outbreak

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 5, May 2016, pp. 696-889, pp. 703-709(7)

Tamber, Sandeep; Swist, Eleonora; Oudit, Denise

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/iafp/jfp/2016/00000079/00000005/art00002

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time