Is it Safe to Eat Raw Sprouts?

Eating raw sprouts sounds like a good idea. After all, sprouts contain antioxidants and phytochemicals that help to keep cells vital and healthy. But there's a dark side to eating raw sprouts. They're a perfect vehicle for food poisoning. What started out to be a healthy addition to a meal could send you running to the toilet or worse yet lead to a deadly case of food poisoning.

Why Raw Sprouts Are a Risky Addition to Your Salad

According to an article published on Medscape.com, raw sprouts offer the perfect environment for bad bacteria such as Salmonella, E.Coli and Listeria to thrive. These bacteria can all cause a serious case of food poisoning, although Listeria usually only causes serious problems in pregnant women, older people and those with a weakened immune system. Salmonella and E.Coli can cause illness even in healthy people, but infections are more severe in the very young or old and in people with an impaired immune system.

In the past 15 years, there have been at least 30 outbreaks of food poisoning traced back to raw sprouts. Several of these outbreaks affected people in multiple areas of the country. There may have been more unrecorded cases, but it's common for cases of food poisoning to go unreported since people don't always recall what they've eaten, and some people assume they simply have a virus. Symptoms of food poisoning may be mild in healthy, young people.

What Types of Raw Sprouts Should You Avoid?

There have been documented outbreaks of food poisoning from eating all types of sprouts including bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, radish and clover sprouts. Sadly, 45 deaths from eating bacteria-tainted sprouts have occurred since 1990. This from a food that's supposed to be good for you. You don't need to eat a large number of sprouts to become ill. Even a bite or two is enough to cause symptoms if the sprouts happen to be contaminated with the wrong bacteria.

Unfortunately, there's no sure way to treat raw sprouts to ensure they're free of bad bacteria. Soaking them in a dilute vinegar solution helps, but there's no guarantee it will kill off all of the bacterial offenders. One possible solution is to grow your own at home. There are kits available online that can help you do this. In rare cases, the seeds you use to grow them can already be contaminated with bacteria. The bacteria can multiply during sprouting and contaminate the mature sprouts. Your risk is lower when you grow your own, but it's not 100%.

The Bottom Line?

If you love raw sprouts, grow your own at home, and get the seeds from a reliable supplier. Some suppliers test their seeds for contamination before selling them. If you're pregnant or have a weakened immune system for any reason, stay away from sprouts entirely. They may be good for you, but not if they lead to a serious case of food poisoning.

References:

Medscape.com. "Hold the Raw Sprouts, Please"

NY Times.com. "Sprouts a Common Cause of Food Poisoning"