Examples of Reported Outbreaks of Foodborne Disease Associated with Seed Sprouts
Note: There are 10 tables in this chapter. They can be found athttp://www.fda.gov/Food/ScienceResearch/ResearchAreas/SafePracticesforFoodProcesses/ucm091270.htm. Only Table 0-4, which relates to sprouts is included here.
U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
September 30, 2001
Analysis and Evaluation of Preventive Control Measures for the Control and
Reduction/Elimination of Microbial Hazards on Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce
Chapter IV
Outbreaks Associated with Fresh Produce:
Incidence, Growth, and Survival of Pathogens in Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce
Table O-4: Examples of Reported Outbreaks of Foodborne Disease Associated with Seed Sprouts | |||||||||
Pathogen | Year | Location | Seed Source | Type of Sprout | No. of Cases | No. of Deaths | Isolated from Sprouts/Seeds | Comments | Reference |
Bacillus cereus | 1973 | Texas | Uganda (soy), Holland (cress), and Denmark (mustard) | Soy, mustard, and cress | 4 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Sprouted from a home seed sprouting kit. | Portnoy and others 1976 |
Escherichia coliO157:H7 | 1996 | Japan | NRa | Radish | 6561 (101 with HUSb), 160 secondary cases | 2 | No/No | Contamination route unknown. | WHO, Weekly Epidemiological Record 1996a, 1996b |
E. coli O157:H7 | 1997 | Japan | NR | Radish | 126 | 0 | Yes/No | The pathogen was isolated from leftover sprouts in the refrigerator but not the seeds from the same seed lots. | See Feng 1997; Taormina and others 1999 |
E. coli O157:H7 | 1997 | Michigan and Virginia | NR | Alfalfa | 108 | 0 | NR/NR | Sprouts were sprouted from same seed lot in both states. | CDC 1997d |
E. coli O157:NM | 1998 | California | California and Nevada | Clover / Alfalfa | 8 | 0 | Yes/No | Sprouts were traced to a single sprouter. Contaminated seeds suspected (same sprouter as 1997-98 S.Senftenberg outbreak). | Farrar; pers comm; unreferenced; Taormina and others 1999 |
SalmonellaBovismorbificans | 1994 | Sweden and Finland | Australia | Alfalfa | 595 | 0 | Yes/No | Contaminated seeds came from the same seed lot and importer. | Ponka and others 1995 |
S. Enteriditis (Note from SproutNet: this was S. Enteriditis PT 11B) | 2000 | Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada | China | Alfalfa (Note from SproutNet:This should be mung, not alfalfa) | 8 | 0 | NR/NR | Outbreaks occurred at 5 Vietnamese restaurants. Sprouts came from 2 growers who received seeds imported from China. | Farber 2000; personal communication; unreferenced |
S. Enteriditis | 2000 | California | China | Mung | 45 | 0 | No/No | Cluster of illness linked to 3 Vietnamese restaurants. S.Enteriditis isolated from environment at sprouter. | California Dept. Health Services 2000; Farrar; pers comm; unreferenced |
S. Gold-Coast | 1989 | U.K. | The Netherlands | Cress | 31 | 0 | Yes/No | Contaminated seed and/or sprouter. | Feng 1997; Taormina and others 1999 |
S. Havana | 1998 | California and Arizona | NR | Alfalfa | 14 (California) 4 (Arizona) | 1 | No/Yes | Sprouts were traced to a single producer. Seeds obtained from the same lot yielded sprouts from which S.Havana was cultured. | Backer and others 2000 |
S. Havana / Cubana / Tennessee | 1998 | California | California | Alfalfa | 34 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Contaminated seeds were suspected. | Farrar; pers comm; unreferencd; Taormina and others 1999 |
S. Infantis and S. Anatum | 1997 | Kansas and Missouri | Unknown | Alfalfa | 109 | 0 | NR/NR | Seeds were believed to be contaminated. | Feng 1997; Taormina and others 1999 |
S. Mbandaka | 1999 | Oregon, California, Idaho, and Washington | California | Alfalfa | Appx. 68 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Seeds were believed to come from the same lot and distributed to various growers in California, Florida, and Washington. No cases in Florida. | Farrar; personal communication; unreferenced |
S. Meleagridis | 1997 | Canada | Unknown | Alfalfa | 124 | 0 | NR/NR | Sprouts were organically grown with no chlorine pre-soak. | See Feng 1997; Farber 2000; pers comm; unreferenced |
S. Montevideo and S. Meleagridis | 1996 | California | California | Alfalfa | >500 | 1 | Yes/No | The sprouts were traced to a specific sprouter. Seeds traced to single California seed grower. Contaminated seeds suspected. | Taormina and others 1999; Farrar; pers comm; unreferenced |
S. Newport | 1995 | Denmark (probably US and Canada) | The Netherlands | Alfalfa | 154 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Seeds came from the same shipper as US/Canada outbreak (see below). Source of contamination unknown. | See Feng 1997; Farber 2000; personal communication; unreferenced |
S. Newport | 1995-96 | British Columbia, Canada, Oregon (probably Georgia and Vermont) and Denmark | The Netherlands | Alfalfa | 133 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Organism isolated were indistinguishable form the Denmark outbreak (see above). | See Feng 1997; Taormina and others 1999 |
S. Paratyphi B var. Java | 1999 | Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Canada | Unknown | Alfalfa | 46 | 0 | NR/NR | Spouts were from the same brand or common seed source. | Farber 2000; personal communication; unreferenced |
S. Saint-Paul | 1988 | U.K. | Thailand and Australia | Mung | 143 | 0 | Yes/Yes | Multiple serovars isolated from bean spouts, seeds, and environmental samples (from producer waste materials). | O’Mahony and others 1990 |
S. Saint-Paul S. Havana S. Muenchen | 1988 | Sweden | NR | Mung | 148 | 0 | Yes/NR | Probably same seeds as UK outbreak. S. Havana and S.Muenchen but not S. Saint-Paul isolated from sprouts. | See Nguyen-the and Carlin 2000; See O’Mahony and others 1990 |
S. Senftenberg | 1997-98 | California | 5 US states | Alfalfa and clover sprouts | 52 | 0 | Yes/No | Sprouts were traced to a specific sprouter. Contaminated seeds suspected. Same sprouter as 1998 E. coliO157:NM outbreak. | Jeff Farrar; pers comm; unreferenced; Taormina and others 1999 |
S. Stanley | 1995 | Multistate, US, Canada and Finland | The Netherlands | Alfalfa | >272 | 0 | No/No | Seeds came from the same sprouter. At least 4 seed lots involved. Possible contamination occurred prior to shipping. | Mahon and others 1997 |
S. Virchow | 1988 | U.K. | Thailand and Australia | Mung | 7 | 0 | Yes/NR | Probably from the same outbreak as S.Saint-Paul in UK. | O’Mahony and others 1990 |
Yersinia enterolitica | 1982 | Pennsylvania | Unknown | Bean sprouts | 16 | 0 | NR/NR | Bean sprouts were immersed at home in well water contaminated with Yersinia. | See Cover and Aber 1989 |
a NR, not reported b Hemolytic uremic syndrome |