MICROBIOLOGICAL HAZARDS IN SPROUTS
Sprouts represent a unique food safety challenge because the proliferation of bacterial pathogens, if present, is enhanced due to the high humidity and the ideal sprouting temperature. For this reason, the Expert Committee identified foodborne bacterial pathogens of concern, including Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli(STEC), Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes and specifically focused on interventions against bacterial foodborne pathogens.
While the seed for sprouting may be contaminated with viral or parasitic pathogens, viruses and parasites do not increase in numbers during sprout production and few viral or parasitic disease outbreaks have been attributed to sprouts.
FoodWorld 