A cold revolution for sprouts puts them back on the shelves

These sprouts are cool — literally. Unlike other sprouts that were grown in warm, moist conditions, Wild About Sprouts (https://wildaboutsprouts.com) are grown in cool temperatures using a patented process. 

Why does this matter?
Turns out that sprout seeds themselves can be the starting point of a foodborne illness outbreak. The simple reason for this is that the seeds can be contaminated with bacteria during production while growing in the field. Some of the reasons are unclean irrigation water, animal manure, wild animals roaming through the field, unsanitary practices, or even workers’ dirty hands.

Not only that, once harvested, the seeds can be contaminated in other ways: from transportation containers and vehicles, farming equipment, pests, rodents and workers.

A sprout is the very first growth of a plant as the seed opens up and before any true leaves appear. The most popular ones are alfalfa, red clover, broccoli and bean sprouts.

The main problem in growing sprouts is that they require adequate moisture and warmth, about 70 degrees F, and both of those create ideal conditions for the rapid growth of bacteria. If the bacteria is on the seeds, it will end up on the sprouts.

One study reported that the number of microorganisms on a sprouting seed can reach up to 1 billion within 2-3 days of the sprouting process. 

That’s not good news especially since it doesn’t take many bacteria cells to get someone sick. For example, if someone eats just one cell of Salmonella or 10 to 100 cells of E. coli — both of which can be on the sprouts —  he or she can come down with a foodborne illness. 

According to CDC, infections with E. coli and Salmonella can lead to permanent health problems — or even death.

Good to know, though, is that cooking the sprouts will kill the bacteria. However most sprouts are eaten raw, in most cases in salads and sandwiches. Consumers like how fresh they are. They also believe there’s more nutrition in them if they’re raw.

In conventional growing operations, the sprouts are grown in large rotating drums in warm, moist conditions — the perfect environment for pathogens to grow to levels that can cause human illness.

But why were or are they grown in a warm, moist environment to begin with? The simple answer to that is that is how most plants grow the best. Think spring . . . the rain and warm weather. Think of all the fields that are planted then. Not many crops get planted in the late fall or winter.

Pulled from the shelves
Between 1996 and 2010, there were 34 reported foodborne illness outbreaks caused by eating raw sprouts. These outbreaks resulted in 2,150 cases of illness, 123 hospitalizations and one death. 

From 2011 to 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 9 foodborne illness outbreaks caused by eating sprouts. 

That was enough for the agency to label sprouts as a “high risk” food —  a warning flag for people with compromised immune systems, such as children, elderly, pregnant women and those who are sick or taking medications that impair the immune system.

And that, in turn, was enough for stores, among them Fred Meyer, Walmart and Safeway, and restaurants to pull them them from their shelves or out of their food containers. No need to risk getting people sick . . . or getting sued and put out of business.

Accordingly, in 2012, many retailers and food-service shops discontinued offering sprouts.

But sprouts were very popular so when customers asked the produce managers or restaurant owners what happened to them , they were told they were just too risky a food to sell.

Disappointed by that turn of events, some people decided they would grow them themselves. After all if they grew them at home, surely they’d be safe. Some spread the seeds on a moist paper towel and put them in a sealed plastic bag. Others grew them in large bottles resting on their sides with just enough water to keep them moist. No matter the procedure, the problem was that if there was bacteria on the seeds, it could multiply and get people eating them sick. In other words, whether produced in a large factory setting or at home, sprouts posed a serious health threat to consumers.. 

That was disappointing indeed to the many consumers who had become ardent fans of these tiny bundles of nutrition.

“I loved sprouts,” said a biology professor from Virginia. “They were so healthy — they had so much nutrition in them. But when the news came out that some people were getting sick from them . . . some even dying, I decided I shouldn’t eat them anymore.”

“She’s not alone in that,” said Vince Corso, manager of the produce department in the Fred Meyer store in Hollywood, Oregon. “That was when the stores stopped selling them.”

Even so, grocers would get  10 or 15 requests a week for sprouts. “There was good customer demand for them,” Corso said.

A cold revolution on its way
In 2012, when retailers and food service shops in the United States discontinued selling or using sprouts, it certainly wasn’t a good time to be in the sprouting business. 

“Either we would have to leave the business or find a way to grow them safely,” said Sue Harlander, partners with Jeff Sholl of Ra Foods (https://www.joeproduce.com/users/rä-foods-llc), 

With that challenge before them, Sholl and Harlander got to work in finding a different way to sprout seeds.

It was definitely a challenge, but they did find a way — a very different way from sprouting seeds n the time-honored way that focused on a moist and warm environment.

In fact, it was almost the opposite of what Harlander describes as a cold-grown process (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G_a_lyGvs0.) With success looming before them, they applied for a patent.

What they developed was a process that resulted in actual living plants. Harlander says they’re so alive, you can actually take one out of a package, plant it, and it will grow.

The seeds are sanitized and set on a pad which is soaked with sterile water. Instead of being tumbled in drums for 5 days, they’re gown in a package at 40 degrees F.  — much colder than the 71 degrees F. No human hands, except those of the ultimate buyer, touch them. Another plus is that they have a much longer shelf life than conventionally grown sprouts. 

Food-safety tests on the sprouts were surprising even to them, said Harlander. “We never had a positive. We realized we had reinvented the growing process.”

Even so, getting back on the shelves was going to be almost as challenging as finding a new sprouting method. But when retailers saw how safe the sprouts were when grown in the company’s cold-grown process they started coming back onboard. By 2016, they were once again an industry favorite.

“The retailers were pretty excited about this; they said customers were asking about it,” said Harlander.

As for food safety, produce manager Vince Corso said that at Fred Meyer, each incoming pallet of sprouts has a sticker time, and the sprouts must be in the cooler within 30 minutes.

There’s a danger zone,” said Corso . “If the bacteria is there, it will be growing exponentially if the temperature isn’t low enough.”

 Harlander said the company is seeing a nice uptick in sales. And even though FDA still has sprouts on its high-risk list, she said that many major retailers now understand that there is a safe alternative to conventionally grown sprouts. Meanwhile, the company’s plant in Sacramento is just about maxed out, which means it needs to set its sights on a wider market. Currently, its customer base is west of Mississippi.

Harlander goes so far as to say that the company sees “the world as our future market.”

How old are sprout eaters?
“Sprout eaters are not a big demographic,” said produce manager Corso. “We don’t see that many young people. A lot of them have never even seen sprouts. It’s mostly people 40 to 60 who buy them. But sometimes younger people know people who eat them, and that helps.”

Food-safety tips from
Clemson University

°Buy/consume only fresh sprouts that are kept refrigerated.
°Do not buy/consume sprouts that are limp, slimy, moldy or have an off odor.
°Keep sprouts refrigerated at 40 degrees F or below.
°Store sprouts in clean containers.
°Wash hands properly with hot running water before touching sprouts.
°Wash sprouts with cool running water directly before use.

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