Following the recent outbreaks of E. coli O104: H4 in Germany and France the Food Standards Agency has revised its guidance on the consumption of sprouted seeds, such as beansprouts (mung beans), alfalfa and fenugreek.
As a precaution, the Agency is advising that sprouted seeds should only be eaten if they have been cooked thoroughly until steaming hot throughout; they should not be eaten raw.
Before cooking you should also:-
- keep sprouting seeds refrigerated
- avoid sprouts that have turned brown or have a strange odour
- rinse raw sprouts thoroughly
- follow any instructions on the packaging and use the beansprouts by the ‘use by’ dates
After handling sprouted seeds you should:-
- clean equipment which has been used for sprouting seeds thoroughly after use with hot soapy water
- wash your hands thoroughly
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its report into the source of the outbreaks which concludes that a batch of fenugreek seeds, originally supplied from a company in Egypt to a German company is the most likely link between the two outbreaks.
Sprouting seeds have also been reported to be implicated in over 40 outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli over recent years and contaminated beansprouts were the cause of a UK outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly in 2010 that resulted in 241 confirmed cases.
For more information on E. coli and beansprouts please visit the news pages on our website at www.hygieneauditsystems.com
