Step away from the sprouts

Posted on June 7, 2011 in Our Blog,Public Safety

We’ve posted before about the dangers of various varieties of sprouts. They seem to be magnets for E. coli. Now it seems that sprouts are behind the E. coli outbreak in Europe that has thus far killed about 22 people and sickened more than 2,200. Reports indicate that vegetable sprouts from a German organic farm could be to blame.Definitive test results are pending.

The farm stopped operations on Sunday, and all produce grown there was recalled. The vegetable sprouts in question include about a dozen and a half varieties or mixtures. Though they were not grown using any manure, a common practice with organic farms and one that has been guilty of causing some E. coli outbreaks, they were grown with steam in barrels, which provide conditions conducive to bacteria growth.

Even if they discover the sprouts weren’t to blame for this E. coli outbreak, hasn’t there been enough evidence to convince people to avoid eating sprouts? For more on this story, see this article.