FDA issues warning on alfalfa sprouts

Jet, Oct 19, 1998

Such an alarming number of alfalfa sprouts have been found to be contaminated with salmonella and E.coli 0157:H7 that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about special dangers to children under 10, the elderly, pregnant women and those with certain disease like AIDS and cancer.

Healthier adults can also get sick from these food-borne illnesses, but they are less likely to require hospitalization.

Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned scientists and health professionals a year ago about alfalfa sprouts, it was not until recently that the FDA issued its warning.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't have done it sooner," said William Schultz, deputy director of the FDA for policy.

According to the CDC, since 1995, outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 in alfalfa sprouts in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia and California have resulted in 1,300 confirmed cases of food poisoning and the likelihood of thousands more. There has been one death.

"I think it is a serious problem," said Dr. Larry Slutsker, a medical epidemiologist with the centers.

The problem with sprouts, which are almost always eaten raw, seems to be in the sprouts themselves, not in the way they are served. The fact that the sprouting process takes place in water may enhance the ability of hazardous bacteria to multiply.