US experts urge people to avoid eating raw sprouts
weak immune systems, should avoid eating raw sprouts because the
crunchy, protein-packed foods could cause salmonella and other
possibly fatal infections, U.S. federal health experts said on
Thursday.
People, particularly young children, the elderly and those with weak immune systems, should avoid eating raw sprouts because the crunchy, protein-packed foods could cause salmonella and other possibly fatal infections, U.S. federal health experts said on Thursday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its advisory after investigating an outbreak of a rare form of salmonella last year among more than two dozen people in California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
The outbreak, which was linked to consumption of alfalfa sprouts, produced severe diarrhoea, urinary tract infections and other symptoms in the patients. Diarrhoea is especially dangerous for infants, the elderly and those suffering from HIV and other immune system diseases.
"The immuno-compromised people could develop shock and die from the infection," said Dr. Mark Beatty of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases. He said healthy people were at a lower risk for such complications.
The FDA recommends that consumers cook sprouts to reduce the risk of illness. The Atlanta-based CDC and other public health officials have noted that there is no sure-fire method to completely eliminate bacteria from the seeds.
Many would rather see consumers avoid sprouts altogether.But organic growers, such as Sproutpeople based in Viroqua, Wisconsin, argue that the dangers from eating sprouts have been exaggerated. "We feel that the facts show clearly that our seeds are completely safe and that, in fact, sprouts as a whole are much safer than many other food products," the group says in a message on its Web site www.sproutpeople.com.
