Minnesota safety expert shares guidance amid E. coli, salmonella illnesses linked to alfalfa sprouts
There's another recall and more produce you may want to throw out. An outbreak of E. coli and salmonella is linked to alfalfa sprouts grown in Minnesota.
From jalapeños to berries and lettuce, the recall on produce is adding another to the list.
"There has been a lot of outbreaks happening lately, but alfalfa sprouts is one of the new ones, "said Autumn Stoll, a food safety extension educator with the University of Minnesota.
The Minnesota grower Everything Sprouts is tied to the outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts. Twenty-three people in Minnesota and 18 in Wisconsin have gotten sick from eating them.
"They are kind of a risky food item to begin with. They are grown in these warm, humid environments, and so out of the list of produce, sprouts are one of the riskier ones to begin with," Stoll said.
Alfalfa sprouts are grown hydroponically or in water. If the water is contaminated, the sprouts can become contaminated as well.
Stoll says there are people in our community who should be careful and not eat alfalfa sprouts because of the risk associated with how they are grown.
"The young, the old, the pregnant and the immunocompromised, these folks do need to be a little more careful about the foods we eat, and there is a recommendation for these folks not to eat sprouts to begin with. Or, if you do cook them, usually 160 degrees Fahrenheit will cover all your bases for salmonella and E.coli," Stoll said.
Stoll says these recalls are a sign that the system designed to keep us safe is working.
"We just have better communication, better tracking, better testing, so there is that. We can also have better reporting from consumers. Could be a post covid thing; people are more aware of their health, their body and so they are saying, 'Oh, something is wrong. I am going to the doctor,'" Stoll said.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever. Symptoms usually begin within 12 to 96 hours after exposure, but can begin up to two weeks after exposure.
