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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (2272)	7/9/1999 6:09:00 PM
From: Dan Spillane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

Sprouts no longer welcome on US dinner table - FDA Friday July 9, 5:47 pm Eastern Time WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Healthy adults, not just the elderly or children, should stop eating raw sprouts on salads and sandwiches to avoid getting sick from food poisoning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Alfalfa, clover and radish sprouts have been linked to nearly 200 reported illnesses this year in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. ''Consumers need to understand that, at this time, the best way to control this risk is not to eat raw sprouts,'' said Jane Henney, FDA commissioner. To reduce the risk of eating sprouts contaminated with salmonella or E. coli 0157:H7, the FDA recommended that consumers ask restaurants to omit sprouts from dishes or to cook them to a high temperature that will kill the bacteria. Sprouts grown at home are also risky because the bacteria travels in the seed purchased from a supplier, the agency said. The warning is not the first time federal regulators have expressed concern about the safety of raw sprouts. Last August, the FDA issued an advisory urging the elderly, young children, HIV patients and others with weak immune systems to avoid eating raw sprouts. In 1995, an estimated 20,000 people throughout North American were sickened by contaminated sprouts, according to the latest available government data. The sprout-growing industry has stepped up research in recent months to try and pinpoint the cause of sprout contamination and to develop better sanitizing treatments for seeds. The FDA said it would increase its inspections at sprout facilities and would prepare national guidelines for growers. Researchers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Oregon health department earlier this year said alfalfa sprouts were a ''high risk food'' for salmonella. They theorized that salmonella bacteria hide in seed crevices in an area that current chemical treatments do not penetrate and rapidly grow during the three- to five-day sprouting period. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever, and E. coli 0157:H7 can also lead to kidney failure and other deadly complications. More than 300,000 tons of sprouts of different varieties are produced annually in the United States.