What's Sprouting?

My very pregnant sister was gracious enough to request a blog entry describing the risks of food borne illness from consuming sprouts (e.g. alfalfa and mung bean) for pregnant women.

Unfortunately, my timing was a little off! Not only has she already given birth to my beautiful niece, but Violet is now 2 months old. Despite the fact that I’m a little slow at responding, it doesn’t change the fact that this is an important message for pregnant women and anyone else who might be immunocompromised.

For some strange reason, sprouts tend to be forgotten when discussing risky foods for pregnant women. This is why my sister, who is now at baby number three, was shocked when she discovered she couldn’t grow her own sprouts anymore.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the most likely source of sprout contamination are the seeds used to grow the sprouts. Seeds may become contaminated in the field or during storage, and the warm and humid conditions required to grow sprouts are ideal for the rapid growth of bacteria. Improper handling and poor hygiene in sprout production have also caused some sprout-related outbreaks of foodborne illness in the past.

Sprouts have caused so many problems that pregnant women and anyone who is immunocompromised are recommended to avoid sprouts altogether. However, I understand how unforgiving and strange pregnant cravings can be, especially now that I’ve spent an entire post telling you that you can’t eat them (which will probably make you crave them even more). So if you can’t avoid them for 9 months, please make sure to cook them well! Keep hot foods hot (>60°C) and do not let raw or cooked foods sit at room temperature for any longer than 2 hours.

Other common foods known to increase one’s risk of a food borne illness include: raw eggs, soft cheese like feta and Brie, deli meats like hot dogs, raw fish, and ready-to-eat fruit like pre-cut cantaloupe.

Since I’m on a role of depriving you of your favorite foods, I stumbled upon another unsuspecting product that’s been wreaking havoc recently – ice cream! Apparently, bacterium can survive on metal surfaces—such as the interior of soft ice cream machines—and may contaminate batches after batches of products. Almost half of all ice cream outbreaks occurred in private homes, which is most likely due to the use of undercooked eggs in homemade ice cream. So when you’re craving ice cream this summer, please splurge at the ice cream store and not venture in making your own.

If you want more food safe tips and tricks, check out the Canadian Food Inspection Agency

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