OzFoodNet Exert from OzFoodNet: quarterly report, 1 January to 31 March 2006 Australian Government Department of Health and Aging Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 30, Number 2, June 2006   Exert Western Australia health authorities completed an investigation into a large outbreak of Salmonella Oranienburg that occurred from November 2005 to February 2006. In total 126 cases were reported as part of the outbreak, compared to an average of 6-12 notifications annually in Western Australia. Initial hypothesis generating questionnaires failed to identify a food vehicle, but the male to female ratio was 1:2. Western Australia conducted a case control study that identified alfalfa sprouts to be strongly associated with illness caused by S. Oranienburg. Brands of alfalfa purchased by the cases were traced back to a single sprout production facility.S.Oranienburg was isolated from alfalfa taken from the residence of cases and at the production facility. The PFGE pattern of isolates from alfalfa sprouts and clinical cases were identical. The company issued a recall of a range of sprout products during February 2006. Discussion There was

SproutNet Newsletter and Mailing List SproutNet is a free newsletter that provides commercial sprout growers with sprout industry news and information that affects their sprouting businesses. It is a valuable resource for sprouters, growers, researchers and educators. Sign up for the SproutNet Newsletter By our estimation, only a few dozen individuals in the sprouting industry still haven't signed up for SproutNet. Don't wait! Find out what you've been missing. Sign Up for the SproutNet Newsletter Now! Contribute to the SproutNet Newsletter If you have some valuable sprouting information, news about the sprouting industry or a question pertaining to sprouts, send it to us and we will cover it in the newsletter. Testimonials for the SproutNet Newsletter This is what growers and researchers have to say about the newsletter in general and about specific sprout industry topics we've covered: "Being a commercial sprout grower, I find all the articles very interesting and would appreciate it if you sent me more, as you can never learn enough in this industry."  Brian Ashe, Elfa

Latest Nutrition News Latest Nutrition News by Steve Meyerowitz, Sproutman® The National Cancer institute and the National Institute of Health both recommend eating 5 fresh fruits and vegetables every day. A great way to help reach that goal is to include sprouts. Sprouts are the only form of agriculture that can be locally grown and available in all four seasons. These "baby" vegetables are grown from seed to salad in only week. That makes them great Y2K food. In fact, one pound of alfalfa seed will yield 10-14 pounds of fresh mini-salad greens. Whether you are on top of a mountain or in a bunker with artificial light, you can still grow this fast, organic food. Yes, it is fast food, but you won't be sacrificing any nutrition. Alfalfa sprouts have more chlorophyll than spinach, kale, cabbage or parsley. Alfalfa, sunflower, clover and radish sprouts are all 4% Protein. Compare that to spinach - 3%, Romaine lettuce -1.5% and Iceberg lettuce- 0.8%, and milk -3.3%. These foods all have about 90%

Seed Sampling and Testing a Risk Reduction Stratagy for Sprouts Seed Sampling and Testing: A risk-reduction strategy for sprouts Extracted from a PowerPoint Presentation by Bob Sanderson Jonathan's Sprouts Parts of this presentation: An example of seed sampling and testing How well does seed sampling work? Variables involved Testing and process control A survey of published reports How well does chlorine work? A survey of published reports Advantages of seed sampling and testing   An example of seed sampling and testing 1.    The seed delivery arrives… 2.    A small amount of seed is sampled from each bag... 3.    We take a minimum 3kg composite sample from every seed lot, being sure to take at least one sample from every bag. 4.    3 kg will give a high probability of detecting pathogens in seed, based on observations of contamination levels in seed lots implicated in outbreaks. The bigger the composite, the better. The seed cost of even large samples is not a significant economic factor. 5.    The holes are covered with an identifying label... 6.    The seed

Total Chemically Available Total Chemically Available (Free and Intrachain) Lysine and Furosine in Pea, Bean, and Lentil Sprouts J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Nov 1. Rodríguez C, Frías J, Vidal-Valverde C, Hernández A. The effect of the germination of peas, beans, and lentils under differing conditions of illumination for different times on parameters linked to the Maillard reaction (chemically available free and intrachain lysine, lysine availability, and furosine) was evaluated. The chemically available free lysine content in the raw seeds of the three legumes was quite small compared to the chemically available intrachain lysine content, and furosine was detectable only in the beans and the lentils. The effect of germination was to increase lysine availability compared with levels in the raw seeds in all of the germinated samples, the smallest increase taking place in the lentils. In addition, furosine became detectable in all of the germinated samples. Quantities varied depending on the germination conditions but in all cases were higher than the quantities observed in the raw seeds. Linear correlations

Miscellaneous Sprout Safety Research Welcome! This is our grab-bag collection of sprout food safety information. We have amassed helpful sprout safety research covering a wide variety of sprout food safety topics. "Adhesion and Control of Human Pathogens to and on Surfaces (Part B: Produce)", Mandrell RE, Charkowski AO, Cooley MB, Friedman M, Gorski L, Kint S, Miller WG, Agricultural Research Service, Food Safety and Health Unit, WRRC, Albany, CA., National Program 108, Food Safety Progress Report 2001, Section 10: Produce and Animal Manure, CRIS: 5325-42000-022. "Comparison of the stress response of Listeria monocytogenes strains with sprout colonization", J Food Prot. 2008 Aug;71(8):1556-62, Gorski L, Flaherty D, Duhé JM., U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, California 94710, USA. "Effects of acid adaptation on the survival of Listeria monocytogenes on modified atmosphere packaged vegetables", Gillian A. Francis* & David O'Beirne, International Journal of Food Science & Technology Volume 36 Issue 5 Page 477  - June 2001, doi:10.1046/j.1365-2621.2001.00489.x "Effect of Canavanine from Alfalfa Seeds

ISS Certified Sprouting Seed ISS Screened Sprouting Seed SproutNet International Specialty Supply April 16, 2002 To date, there is no known method that is 100% effective in eliminating Salmonella or E.Coli 0157H:7 from seed or sprouts once they are contaminated. So it just makes sense to start with seed that is not contaminated in the first place.  The key is in properly drawing, inspecting, and testing a large enough sample to significantly reduce the odds of the seed having salmonella or E.coli 0157H:7 ISS has a rigid procedure that samples, screens and tests for these pathogens. Nobody can guarantee that the seed is free of pathogens, however, we furnish you with the documentation of what sampling, screening and testing we did, when it was done, and the results.  In some cases, depending on the size of the lot and the amount of seed sampled, the sampling, screening, and testing procedure can reduce the statistical odds of having seed that is contaminated with these two pathogens substantially. Many seed suppliers just send

Broccoli May Help Beat Bladder Cancer Broccoli may help beat bladder cancer Wed Aug 3, 2005 8:28 PM BST By Alison McCook NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating broccoli may help prevent or slow the spread of bladder cancer, according to preliminary study findings.   Working in the laboratory, U.S. researchers found that certain compounds in broccoli appear to interfere with bladder cancer cells -- especially aggressive cells that tend to spread quickly around the body.   "Preliminary evidence suggests that these compounds may have some biological activity in slowing the growth of bladder cancer cells," study author Dr. Steven Schwartz told Reuters Health.   However, he cautioned that these results are very preliminary, and it's too early to determine, for instance, how much broccoli people need to eat to get this benefit.   "What we do know is eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is certainly beneficial," Schwartz said in an interview.   Previous research has shown that men who eat broccoli regularly are less likely to develop

Seed Sanitation- Fumigation Sprout Safety Research Recognized as industry experts on the topic of sprouts and food safety, our team has collected important seed sanitation research pertaining to fumigation's role in sprout safety. "Reduction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium in Artificially Contaminated Alfalfa Seeds and Mung Beans by Fumigation with Ammonia"  Journal of Food Protection: Vol. 64, No. 11, pp. 1817-1819, Sakchai Himathongkham,  California Department of Health Services, 601 North 7th Street, Sacramento, California 94234-7320, Suphachai Nuanualsuwan, Hans Riemann, and Dean O. Cliver, Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA

Sanitation ISS CitroBio is the most complete organic antibacterial in its class, providing protection against a broad spectrum of contaminants and consistent residual action. CitroBio is a natural citrus extract treatment composed of FDA Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) listed ingredients. It is an aqueous solution of a mixture derived from whole oranges, glycerin, citric acid and alpha-tocopherol. CitroBio is effective against a wide range of plant and human pathogens, bacteria, bacterial spores, viruses, fungi, and algae fungus. It is used for food safety and extended product shelf life. CitroBio is appropriate for use in ALL PHASES of sprout production: Seed Disinfection (not to be used in place of chlorine in the USA). Misting or Watering to reduce bacteria during production of bean sprouts and green sprouts - reducing the chance of rot and increasing sprout yield and shelf life. Post Harvest wash water, creating a better quality, safer and longer lasting product. Surface Disinfection of growing and harvesting equipment, conveyors, tools and buckets, tables, floors and walls, transport vehicles,