Tag Archives: Sprout

Peace out, sprouts; Jimmy John’s founder says CDC is bullying him

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Founder Jimmy John ‘Jimmy John’s’ Liautaud told the world via Facebook that after five sprout-related outbreaks at Jimmy John’s outlets since 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are “bullying” the sandwich company adding, “Anyway, gov is no longer here to serve us we are here to serve them and those who vote for them. Onward an upward! Peace, jimmy.”

“Peace out folks, the gov can push me down but they aint gonna push me out, i’m not a quitter i’m a doer, hold tight, I’ll keep you posted,” according to another post.

Mike Hornick of The Packer reported that Liautaud also said via Facebook the company is working on a replacement for sprouts.

“Sprouts are out, but that doesn’t mean we’re done with this issue,” Liataud said, referring to a new menu item, snow pea shoots, being offered at a Champaign outlet.

Sprout risk is too high

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The Packer, the produce trade journal always on the cutting edge, has decided after 55 outbreaks in 14 years sickening about 15,000 and killing dozens, that sprouts may be too risky to serve.

Referring to the Jimmy John’s sprout outbreaks, the editorial says a year ago, an Oregon epidemiologist said clover sprouts were no safer than alfalfa and predicted a rise in clover sprout outbreaks if Jimmy John’s switched.

Unfortunately, he was right.

Last month, a rival chain, Jason’s Deli, announced it would drop sprouts from all 230 of its restaurants later this year in response to food safety concerns over the item. Wal-Mart reportedly dropped sprouts from its offerings nationwide late in 2010 because of food safety concerns.

Companies that sell or serve them to consumers know the risks, and more every month are deciding the risk isn’t worth it.

’Nothing can be done to ensure seeds are safe’ sprouted seeds pose an unacceptable risk to health

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As officials in Brussels meet Jan. 26, 2012, to discuss the introduction of new control measures to prevent a repeat of last year’s E. coli O104 outbreak in Germany and France, food safety experts have questioned the effectiveness of the measures proposed.

At a meeting last week of the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), which advises the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA), Dr Norman Simmons, a former ACMSF member said after the meeting: “There is no doubt about it, sprouted seeds are a risk … nothing can be done to ensure the seeds are safe. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next outbreak is even bigger.”

Among the control measures up for discussion are:

• sourcing seeds only from approved establishments;
• ensure only potable (drinking quality) water is used for irrigation and cleaning; • one-up-one down traceability of seeds;
• the use of microbiological testing for common bacteria before products can be released to market; and,
• rules governing the frequency of sampling.

ACMSF member Roy Betts, head of microbiology at Campden BRI , expressed concern about the use of microbiological analysis as a control measure. “I get nervous when we go to microbiological criteria in any detail: it’s not a control measure,” he said, since it is not good at picking up low levels of contamination.

What’s missing in all this is the lack of clear warnings to consumers, and any kind of verification. Guidelines and rules are nice but what if no one pays attention?

Let’s Grow Healthy with salmonella and listeria; sprout recall in Texas expanded

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In what could be shaping up as another wow-you-won’t-believe-what inspectors-found-once-they-looked – as in Peanut Corp. of America, DeCoster eggs, Tiny Green sprouts, Bravo Farms cheese – the recall of “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts last week because of a positive salmonella sample has been expanded because a separate test has found listeria in product.

Green Valley Food Corp. is recalling approximately 35,159 cases of a variety of products because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Random samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

The company is still yelling in ALL CAPS and writing in a dialect that would be foreign to a Texan: “Till this present day there has bee no related illnesses CONFIRMED because of this recall.”

A table of sprout-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.

The items affected in the recall are as follows , which includes all items from the original press release from 12/23/2011:

• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722228818
• Let"s Grow Healthy Together!” Spicy Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722229914
• Alfalfa Sprouts 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098001088
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Onion Sprouts” 4oz. plastic security sealed clamshell UPC number 815098002054
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Sunflower Greens 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722206069
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Clover Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722225510
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Onion Sprouts 2 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722227712
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Zesty Sprouts 5 oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722221116
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Organic Wheat Grass 6oz. plastic 2 piece containers with the UPC number 714722608122
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 8oz. red polypropylene bag with the UPC number 815098001071
• Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Mung Bean Sprouts 16 oz. clear polypropylene bag with a green label, the UPC number 714722208162
• &Green Valley Food Corp. Spicy Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098002023
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Snow Pea Shoots 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 714722106062
• “Green Valley Food Corp.” Organic Wheatgrass 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722608122
• Green Valley Food Corp.” Daikon Sprouts 3 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 714722206076
• Broccosprouts” Sandwich Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000289
• Broccosprouts” Salad Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000265
• Broccosprouts” Deli Blend 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with the UPC number 815098000272
• Broccosprouts” Broccoli Sprouts 4 oz. plastic security sealed clamshell containers with UPC number 815098000258

The sprouts affected in this recall were distributed via truck deliveries to all customers in Texas. Our customers consist on grocery store distribution centers and food service customers.

UK grandmother dies from salmonella in sprouts Aug. 2010; inquest blames poor labeling guidelines?

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The death of a Jewish grandmother who contracted salmonella from bean sprouts should force national changes to food labelling to prevent further deaths, a coroner has ruled.

A four-day inquest into the death of René Kwartz, from north Manchester, concluded that the 82- year-old was infected by salmonella, in bean sprouts served at a Jewish wedding in August 2010. It had been alleged that the wedding’s caterer, Shefa Mehadrin, had neglected food safety standards.

But on Dec. 8, 2011, the inquest’s jury unanimously returned a verdict of death by natural causes.

During evidence from Bury Council’s environmental health investigators, it emerged that no fault was found with the caterer, but that serving instructions on the bean sprout packages used at the wedding, were misleading.

Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows said he would push the government and the Food Standards Agency to review cooking guidelines on bean sprout packaging. The agencies must report on what action will be taken within 56 days.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Meadows said: "It seems that clarity on the cooking of this product could be easily achieved.

A table of sprout-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.

Seeds and beans from Egypt still banned in Europe; inefficiency of procedures

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The European Union (EU) has extended the ban on selected Egyptian seeds and beans, which was imposed following the deadly E .coli outbreaks in Europe earlier this year.

The ban was set to expire on 31 October 2011. However, the European Commission has extended the ban until 31 March 2012, due to the inefficiency of the procedures taken by Egyptian authorities to ensure the integrity of grain and plant exports.

The ban will remain on items including rocket sprouts, sprouts of leguminous vegetables (fresh or chilled), soya bean sprouts, dried (shelled) leguminous vegetables, fenugreek seeds, soya beans and mustard seeds.

Imports of fresh and chilled peas and beans will be allowed, as the EU ban on these items was lifted in October.

Dr. Dr. Dodd speaks: safe food for the U.S. military or all the things they don’t teach in school

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Dr. Dr. Chuck Dodd (DVM, PhD), program manager for veterinary services in the U.S. Army Public Health Command Region – Europe, shared his experiences from the midst of the E. coli O104 outbreak associated with raw sprouts centered in Germany earlier this year.

The video of Dr. Dr. Dodd, looking sharp in his military fatigues and fresh from another of his 100-mile ultra-marathons, is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/dodd-lecture as are the PowerPoint slides.

Secret of safe sprouts is in the seeds

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The secret to keeping sprouts free of foodborne pathogens lies in industry’s intense attention to cleanliness of seeds.

"Once seeds have germinated, it’s too late. Sprouts are extremely complex structures with a forest-like root system that conceals microorganisms. Just a few E. coli cells can grow to a substantial population during germination and sprouting, and it’s very difficult to get rid of them all," said Hao Feng, a University of Illinois associate professor of food and bioprocess engineering.

Feng’s study is the cover story of the August 2011 issue of the Journal of Food Science. Two other papers that detail his work with sprouts will appear in upcoming issue of that journal and in the Journal of Food Protection.

In his experiments, Feng used both the FDA-recommended dose of chlorine to kill microorganisms and a new sanitizer that was a combination of surfactant and organic acid. He used a laser-scanning confocal microscope to look at micro-slices of seeds, then employed computer software to get a three-dimensional view of their surface structure. This allowed him to calculate each seed’s surface roughness.

Although E. coli could be eliminated on the alfalfa seeds because of their relatively smooth surface, broccoli and radish seeds have rough surfaces. Their texture renders these rougher seeds more susceptible to the attachment of pathogens and makes these microorganisms very difficult to remove, he said.

Feng assured consumers that sprouts are carefully tested for the presence of pathogens. "When there is one positive result, the entire batch is thrown out," he said.

Feng said this research demonstrates the importance of eliminating all pathogens on seeds before sprouting.

"The food industry must maintain very strict control in the sprout production process, focusing on the cleanliness of seeds and expending money and effort on prevention. Then consumers can be assured that these nutritious food products are safe to eat," Feng said.

But with no food safety marketing at retail, how do consumers know which sprouts came from safe(erer) seeds?

Multidisciplinary response to the E. coli O104 outbreak in Europe

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Fresh from a months-long tour of Europe – or at least one part of Germany – Dr. Chuck Dodd returns to Kansas State to share his experiences from the E. coli O104 outbreak in raw sprouts centered in Germany earlier this year, which killed 53 people and sickened some 4,400.

Dr. Dr. Dodd (DVM, PhD, right, pretty much as shown) is the program manager for veterinary services in the U.S. Army Public Health Command Region – Europe. He will speak at 4 p.m. on Thurs. Oct. 13, 2011 in 407 Trotter Hall, in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. My team will be on-hand to record the talk and, technology willing, throw it up on the web.

EU to lift ban on Egyptian sprout seeds after E. coli scare devastation, no safety evidence provided

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Why are outbreaks of foodborne illness, like when 53 are killed and 4,400 sickened from eating sprouts produced in Germany from Egyptian seeds, referred to in media reports as ‘scares.’

This wasn’t a scare, it was a sprout shitstorm. Neither the first nor last.

Afrique en ligne reports the European Union will soon lift a ban on Egyptian sprout seeds after an EU delegation, which just wrapped up a visit to Egypt, produces a report in about 10 days.

Egypt’s Agriculture Export Council chairman, Sherif Al-Beltaguy stated that the national reports from agricultural and health authorities on seeds in Egypt were good and that the EU delegation found them acceptable.

Egypt had denied responsibility for the E.coli outbreak, saying the suspected batch dated back to November 2009 and contained dried seeds, arguing the bacteria could not have survived for so long.

I look forward to some sort of data, especially E. coli testing of germinated seeds.