Noone wants to give a fleeting thought to a food recall just days before the biggest eating day of the year. But it would be wise to heed the latest warnings if you’d planned on accommodating vegetarian, vegan or other health nut kinfolk by serving bean sprouts at this year’s feast.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention have found that 63 people have gotten salmonella poisoning from eating raw bean sprouts. Those infected live on the East Coast and are believed to have consumed spouts supplied by Wonton Food Inc. The New York City supplier has “verbally agreed to voluntarily stop the production and sale of their bean sprouts while they take steps to prevent Salmonella contamination,” the CDC reported.
This is the third outbreak from contaminated sprouts this year. During the summer, three people died from listeria caught by eating mung bean sprouts, and 19 caught E. coli from raw clover sprouts in May.
Bean sprouts are said to be a potentially dangerous food because they grown in warm, damp areas where bacteria is easily developed. There have been 30 food-borne illnesses linked to raw and lightly cooked sprout consumption since 1996.
The Food and Drug Administration suggests that children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a weak immune system refrain from eating any kind of raw sprouts. The FDA also tells the public to avoid eating raw sprouts at restaurants, and if prepared at home, cook the sprouts thoroughly.
Salmonella poisoning affects the intestinal tract and can involve nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. The illness generally lasts from several hours to two days.