Re: Sprouting seeds and E. coli

On Fri 29 Jan, Pesznecker, Sue wrote:
> 
> I have been hearing a lot lately about sprouts being contaminated with E.
> coli and thereby being potentially dangerous.  And this isn't limited to the
> sprouts that you purchase at the grocery.  Apparently the E. coli is present
> on the seed itself, so even seeds that you buy yourself and sprout at home
> can be infected with the bacteria.
> 
> Along those lines, I heard something about how seeds could be treated by
> briefly soaking in a very weak bleach solution.  Unfortunately it was one of
> those things that ran by and was gone before I could listen hard enough to
> get the specifics.
> 
> Has anyone heard about this?  Any suggestions? 
> 
> Sue P.
I have not heard of E.coli in this situation before but anything is
possible and E.coli is an ubiquitous organism and there are many strains
about which can be identified in the laboratory, some more virilant than
most. The recent outbreak in Scotland was most unusual in its virilance.
When I started work in the food industry (44yrs ago) we used to test for
the presence of E.coli in processed foods and water supplies as an
indicator of contamination. If you wish to wash your dried seeds before
germination I suggest you use a mild anti-bacterial solution such as
that used for sterilising babies' bottles. I believe that there are
products on the market for washing salad leaves and fruit which I would
use if camping/self catering on the continent to avoid 'gippy'-tummy. I
am sure they would be fine for your purpose.

Pamela Day>

 

-- 

Allan Day  Hereford HR2 7AU allan@crwys.demon.co.uk
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