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Sprout
Salmonella Cases Rapidly Rising Source of
Article: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/5183 Date Published: Thursday, March 19th, 2009 The
ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to a variety of SunSprout Enterprises’
sprouts, has now sickened 121, with 45 additional cases reported in Nebraska
and Iowa, says KGAN. The cases are of the Salmonella
saintpaul strain, the same strain that was to blame for last year’s massive
Mexican pepper recall and outbreak that was first linked to tomatoes. Nebraska
health officials say 84 cases of Salmonella saintpaul were confirmed near
Omaha, Lincoln, and Kearney; Iowa officials confirmed 27 cases; and South
Dakota and Kansas officials have confirmed five cases in each of their
states, reported KGAN. The
outbreak has been linked to SunSprout Enterprises’ alfalfa, onion, and
gourmet sprouts. Earlier this month, SunSprout issued a voluntary recall of
the products; however, the recall was lifted when no cause for the
contamination was revealed during an investigation, said KGAN, in an earlier
report. After
the recalled sprouts were sent to food distributors, those distributors then
sold the sprouts to restaurants and retail stores, MarketWatch said in an earlier
report. Also, according to the Associated Press (AP), the SunSprout brand
sprouts were distributed by CW Sprouts of Omaha and sold at grocery stores
and restaurants. Victims
might be eligible to receive reimbursement for costs related to medical care
and lost pay, said WOWT in a prior report, noting that any business in the
food chain, from farm to table, could be potentially liable in the ongoing
multi-state outbreak. From farm to table includes just that: Any party
involved in the process, for instance, grocery stores and restaurants, in
addition to growers, processors, and distributors. According
to a prior AP article, investigators are trying to determine if the sprouts
were contaminated earlier on in the food chain. Of note, sprouts present a very
unique challenge when a food borne outbreak occurs because sprouts can become
tainted with salmonella prior to harvesting, when they are growing. Also, the
conditions required for sprout growing are optimal for growing pathogens.
Bacteria need the right temperature, nutrients, and water and sprouts grow in
watery, warm environments, which are ideal for rapid bacterial growth.
Sprouts are often eaten raw with no additional treatment, such as cooking,
which eliminates bacteria that can cause disease and food borne illnesses;
washing sprouts does not necessarily remove bacteria because bacteria grow
within the sprouts and cannot be washed away. Salmonella
causes 40,000 confirmed cases each year, but, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), is probably responsible for close to 40 times that—a stunning
1,600,000—noting that 2,500 subtypes of salmonella exist, said MSNBC in an
earlier report. Salmonella
can cause serious, sometimes fatal salmonellosis infections in young children
and weak or elderly people. Healthy people may experience fever, diarrhea,
nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, if infected. Without treatment, severe
cases of Salmonella can result in death; however, some Salmonella bacteria are
resistant to antibiotics, largely due to the use of antibiotics to promote
the growth of feed animals. A
listing of the recalled sprout lot numbers can be found at the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration’s (FDA) Website page on the recall at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/sunsprouts03_09.html. |
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