FDA Says Alfalfa Sprouts are Source of Salmonella Outbreak

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 by: Henri Junttila
Tags: salmonella, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) Alfalfa sprouts are extremely beneficial for our health but now it seems like they are causing trouble. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention announced on Sunday to avoid eating raw alfalfa sprouts, saying they may be contaminated and could cause salmonella. Salmonella can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and cramps that can last up to seven days. It can be very dangerous in the elderly, infants and people with compromised immune systems. Most people recover without needing special treatment, and if treatment is needed antibiotics are used to help combat salmonella.

The illnesses started around the middle of March. Cases are still being reported. Luckily no deaths have been reported to this date. The FDA says that the number of infected people may be higher than reported because many cases have not yet been confirmed by laboratory testing. FDA's initial investigation results trace the contaminated sprouts to multiple sprout growers in multiple states.

The FDA says that the contamination appears to be in the seeds so just washing the sprouts will most likely not help. "Other types of sprouts have not been implicated at this time," the agency told Reuters. "FDA will work with the alfalfa sprout industry to help identify which seeds and alfalfa sprouts are not connected with this contamination, so that this advisory can be changed as quickly as possible." The FDA told Reuters that 31 Salmonella Saintpaul infections have been seen in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia. "Some reported eating raw sprouts at restaurants; others reported purchasing the raw sprouts at the retail level," the FDA said. "This outbreak appears to be an extension of an earlier outbreak in 2009. In February and March, an outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul infections occurred in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota," The FDA added to Reuters.

"Preventive controls are important in growing of all raw sprouts" the FDA says. FDA reminds sprout growers to be vigilant in their food safety practices and strongly encourages sprout growers to follow the guidance given by the agency.

Sources:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-...
http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/p...
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/...
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW0...

About the author

Henri Junttila is passionate about topics such as home water filters, natural skin care, omega 3 fish oil and natural supplements. His website Colon Health, provides information on topics such as candida cleanse, hemorrhoid cure, relieving constipation, colon detox, colon cleaning, the best colon cleanse and colon cleanse products reviewed by his visitors.