Hours after German health-types announced they were convinced sprouts were epidemiologically linked an outbreak of E. coli O104 that has killed 31 and sickened 3,000, scientists have possibly found the bug – in an opened package of sprouts retrieved from the trash of a household in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis. Two of the three family members in the household ate the sprouts and were infected with the outbreak pathogen.

Further verification is pending.

Next puzzle: how did the E. coli O104 get there, why such a massive level of contamination to make so many sick.

And there are various stories circulating now that say consumers should just cook their sprouts to be safe.

If 31 people die and 3,000 get sick, there’s probably a massive level of contamination or virulence – or both – and I wouldn’t want those sprouts (or any) in a restaurant kitchen, on the hands of a sandwich artist, in a salad bar, or in my kitchen. Cross-contamination is a significant issue, which is why food safety types try to figure out how to lower bacterial loads from farm-to-fork.