Tag Archives: Alfalfa

Don’t eat sprouts: Idaho version, 19 sick with salmonella

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Idaho state public health officials are investigating a number of salmonella cases
believed to be connected to the consumption of alfalfa sprouts.

The investigation is ongoing and includes 19 ill persons from northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana.

Of the persons reported with salmonella infection linked to the outbreak, six have reported consumption of sprouts obtained from a northern Idaho grower, Evergreen Produce, located in Moyie Springs, Idaho.

A listing of international raw sprout outbreaks is available at:
http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.
 

35 now sick with Salmonella from sprouts in 11 U.S. states

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As of 11:00 PM EDT on June 2, 2010, a total of 35 individuals infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 11 states since March 1, 2010. The number of ill people identified in each state with this strain is as follows: AZ (2), CA (17), CO (1), ID (5), IL (1), MO (1), NM (1), NV (2), OR (2), PA (1), and WI (2). Among those for whom information is available about when symptoms started, illnesses began between March 1, 2010 and May 16, 2010. Case-patients range in age from <1 to 75 years old, and the median age is 36 years. Sixty-six percent of patients are female. Among the 30 patients with available hospitalization information, 7 (23%) were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

On May 21, 2010, J.H. Caldwell and Sons Inc. of Maywood, CA, recalled several brands of alfalfa sprouts distributed to wholesale distributors, restaurants, delicatessens, and grocery stores.

Recalled products might still be in grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers’ homes. Recalled products should not be consumed. Consumers are advised to review FDA’s recall site for a list of recalled products.

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.


28 now sick with Salmonella Newport in 10 states from raw alfalfa sprouts

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that as of 11:00 AM EDT on May 26, 2010, a total of 28 individuals infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 10 states since March 1, 2010. The number of ill people identified in each state with this strain is as follows: AZ (2), CA (14), CO (1), ID (3), IL (1), MO (1), NM (1), NV (2), OR (1), and WI (2). Among those for whom information is available about when symptoms started, illnesses began between March 1, 2010 and May 7, 2010. Case-patients range in age from <1 to 75 years old, and the median age is 32 years. Sixty-four percent of patients are female. Among the 20 patients with available hospitalization information, 6 (30%) were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Collaborative investigative efforts of many local, state, and federal public health, agriculture, and regulatory agencies have linked this outbreak to eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Interviews of case-patients found that most reported eating raw alfalfa sprouts before becoming ill. Some case-patients reported eating sprouts at restaurants; others purchased sprouts at grocery stores. The initial investigation traced the implicated raw alfalfa sprouts to a single sprout processor in California. Investigations are currently ongoing at the sprout processor.

On May 21, 2010, J.H. Caldwell and Sons Inc. of Maywood, CA, recalled several brands of alfalfa sprouts distributed to wholesale distributors, restaurants, delicatessens, and grocery stores.
 

Raw alfalfa sprouts source of Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak in Michigan – 12 confirmed illnesses

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At one of the local Manhattan (Kansas) restaurants, we’re known as the sprout people. The menu features a lot of dishes with raw sprouts, and I always say, no raw sprouts. Too many opportunities for screw-ups.

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) are issuing a public health alert regarding illness from Salmonella infections among people who have reported raw alfalfa sprouts consumption in Michigan.

Michigan has 12 confirmed Salmonella Typhimurium cases from seven jurisdictions in Michigan (Bay, Genesee, Kent, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties) involved in the current outbreak. The illness onset dates range from Aug. 17 to Sept. 18, 2009. There have been two known hospitalizations. MDCH and MDA are working closely with local health departments, the CDC and the FDA to determine the source of the outbreak.

"Eating raw sprouts is a known risk for exposure to Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7 bacteria," said Dr. Gregory Holzman, chief medical executive for MDCH. "We want to educate people about this known risk in order for them to make informed decisions concerning their health."

Sprouts are the germinating form of seeds and beans and are frequently eaten raw in sandwiches and salads. Past sprout-related outbreaks of foodborne illness have been linked to seeds contaminated by fecal materials in the field, during storage, or as a result of poor hygienic practices in the production of sprouts. In addition, the warm and humid conditions required to grow sprouts are ideal for the rapid growth of bacteria.

In general, the FDA recommends these guidelines for those who choose to continue to eat sprouts:

– Cook all sprouts thoroughly before eating to significantly reduce the risk of illness.

– Sandwiches and salads purchased at restaurants and delicatessens often contain raw sprouts. Consumers who wish to reduce their risk of food borne illness should specifically request that raw sprouts not be added to their food.

– Homegrown sprouts also present a health risk if eaten raw or lightly cooked. Many outbreaks have been attributed to contaminated seed. If pathogenic bacteria are present in or on seed, they can grow to high levels during sprouting even under clean conditions.
 

FDA finds seed supplier of sprouts with Salmonella

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Cases of Salmonella Saintpaul linked to raw alfalfa sprouts are now up to 35 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration thinks they can all be traced to one seed supplier.

That seed supplier, based in Kentucky, is voluntarily withdrawing from the market all of its 50-pound bags that have a lot code starting with “032.” All of these bags contain seeds from Italy and may be contaminated.

In addition to details about the withdrawn sprouts, the FDA alert states,

“FDA has no evidence that alfalfa seeds from other lots, or sprouts grown from them, are affected by this market withdrawal… Suppliers who can verify that their products were not sourced from the affected lots may wish to notify their customers; likewise, retailers, restaurateurs, and food-service facilities who have verified the sources of their alfalfa products may wish to notify their customers.”

Businesses that can prove they get food from safe sources on purpose—and didn’t just get lucky with this one—should brag about that, too.
 

FDA issues warning after 31 sick with Salmonella linked to sprouts

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Maybe the folks at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are busy with swine flu, but the timing of the latest raw sprouts advisory is a bit wonky.

Oh, and I’m to stress that it is only alfalfa sprouts making people barf, or at least that’s what industry told the FDA during a conference call yesterday afternoon. Not sure why it took FDA over 24 additional hours to warn consumers but …

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination.

Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time.???  ???The investigation indicates that the problem may be linked to contamination of seeds for alfalfa sprouts. Because suspect lots of seeds may be sold around the country and may account for a large proportion of the alfalfa seeds currently being used by sprout growers, and cases of illness are spread across multiple states, FDA and CDC are issuing this general advisory.??????

FDA will work with the alfalfa sprout industry to help identify which seeds and alfalfa sprouts are not connected with this contamination, so that this advisory can be changed as quickly as possible.

CDC, FDA and six State and local authorities have associated this outbreak with eating raw alfalfa sprouts. Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia have reported 31 cases of illness with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul to CDC. Most of those who became ill reported eating raw alfalfa sprouts.  Some reported eating raw sprouts at restaurants; others reported purchasing the raw sprouts at the retail level.

The CDC and FDA recommend at all times that persons at high risk for complications, such as the elderly, young children, and those with compromised immune systems, not eat raw sprouts because of the risk of contamination with Salmonella or other bacteria.

Chapman updated our chart of sprout-related outbreaks. It’s available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=2&c=6&sc=36&id=865
 

Michigan salmonella outbreak tied to alfalfa sprouts

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This is Amy making a face in Guelph in 2005 after being served raw pea sprouts when she specifically said, no sprouts. At a local Manhattan (Kansas) restaurant, we’re known as the ‘no sprouts’ people.

And now, sprouts are in the news again for making people barf.

The Michigan Department of Community Health is telling people to avoid alfalfa sprouts after an outbreak of salmonella sent two people to the hospital and sickened 14 others in southeast Michigan.

For the most part, people got infected from sprouts in sandwiches, but the origin of the sprouts is not yet known, MDCH officials said in a statement. The illnesses mostly occurred between March 23 and April 6.

This same salmonella caused a recall of alfalfa (sprouts) in the Midwest earlier this year.
 

Sprouts strike again

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Once again, raw sprouts are sickening someone.

Eurosurveillance.com reports today that,

Between 10 and 15 October 2007, the national reference laboratory at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) detected Salmonella Weltevreden in samples from four gastroenteritis patients. The patients were all living in the south-eastern part of Norway, and had no history of foreign travel during the month prior to onset of illness.

S. Weltevreden is a common cause of gastroenteritis in south-east Asia [1,2], but is a very rare serovar in Norway. Over the past 30 years, fewer than 10 cases were reported annually, only seven of which were domestically acquired.

In response to the detected cases, an outbreak investigation was initiated on 19 October in order to identify the source of the outbreak. It involved FHI, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), and the municipal medical officers.

An urgent enquiry was sent out through the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on 22 October. In response to the enquiry, Denmark reported a cluster of 18 cases of S. Weltevreden that was under investigation at the time. The onset of illness of the first cases had been in late July. In three cases, it was thought likely that the infection had been acquired abroad. On 26 October, Finland reported a cluster of seven cases that had occurred between 1 August and 1 October.

On 23 October, a salmonella isolate obtained from a major Danish alfalfa sprout producer was serotyped as Weltevreden. The Danish authorities issued an alert through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) on the same day. The isolate was later shown to have the same multiple locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) profiles as the isolates from the case-patients from Denmark, Norway and Finland. S. Weltevreden has also been verified in the sprouts sold in Finland, but the PFGE result of this strain is pending.

The seeds for growing the alfalfa sprouts had been imported to Denmark in July and August 2007. The Danish producer had then exported part of the batch of seeds to a Norwegian alfalfa sprout producer on 19 September. The batch of seeds used in Denmark and Norway was traded, according to invoices, via retailers in Germany and the Netherlands to Denmark, and probably originated from Italy (further information is pending). No clear link has been found as yet to the seeds used in Finland, except that they came from the same Dutch supplier. A link may appear when the full traceability accounts from the Netherlands are provided through the RASFF system. The batch of alfalfa seeds had been imported to Finland in June. However, sprouts from this batch were not on the market in Finland before August.

The alfalfa sprouts were recalled and withdrawn in Denmark on 18 October, in Norway on 23 October, and in Finland on 28 October.