COULD E.COLI CONTAMINATED SEEDS BE IN THE U.S.?

The latest hot topic in our global food supply is the recent outbreak of E.coli food poisoning in a suburb of Bordeaux, France. There is fear that it is linked to the recent huge outbreak of super-toxic E.coli in northern Germany that originated in bean sprouts. According to French investigators and officials, the cause here is also raw sprouts. And, the seeds used by the French sprout grower came from a venerable British seed company, Thompson & Morgan, which has been around for more than a hundred and fifty years (and has a wonderful blog - tmseeds.blogspot.com with all kinds of useful advice).

According to Wikepedia this company distributes its catalogues not just in the UK, and France, but also in Germany - and in the U.S. These catalogues are available through mail or can be requested directly from the company by telephone or via their websites. The New York Times also reported today that their seeds are sold in the U.S. I do buy vegetable seeds, but do not recall ever purchasing any of their so can't say for sure.

Again IF this company is the source of the French outbreak (and maybe even the German one - and no one knows yet), and IF an outbreak in sprouted seeds also occurs in the U.S. (which I hope doesn't), it wouldn't be the first one we have had from imported sprout seeds. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) describes two sprout contamination incidents that occurred in the U.S. in 1995, both eventually traced to seeds imported from the Netherlands. There have been others.

Let's hope it's just another case of "Round up the usual suspects" (as in that memorable line from Casablanca) and it turns out in the end to be something the gazpacho cook did, which doesn't have international repercussions.

To your good health!
TSF

DID BRITISH SPROUT SEEDS CAUSE E.COLI OUTBREAK IN FRANCE?

The UK industry and officials are denying it. But the French say it is true - or probably true. Seeds imported from Britain may have caused the latest (hopefully not E.coli 0104) sprout-linked outbreak in France. Is this going to be a modern-day Sprout Waterloo?

We will know in the next few days or weeks. In the meantime, France has halted the sale of fenugreek, mustard and arugula seeds from a British mail order seed and plant company, Thompson & Morgan. Apparently those sprouts on top of the delicious but deadly gazpacho at the Bordeaux charity dinner (where several of the recent victims ate) were grown with seeds from this company.

Company officials are saying it is more likely to have been something the French grower did or didn't do (since it is such a local outbreak - so far). But British authorities are being cautious anyway in protecting the eating public. Today (Saturday) they warned consumers against eating uncooked sprouts. The statement put out by Britain's Food Safety Agency advised that "sprouted seeds should only be eaten if they have been cooked thoroughly until steaming hot throughout." But it also noted that there haven't been any home-grown cases in the UK so far. This warning was just precautionary.

Even if it turns out to be something else (after all, a gazpacho has a lot of uncooked vegetables in it as well - including cucumbers, and this would not be the first time investigators jumped to a wrong conclusion), it is better to be safe than sorry.

Skip the sprouts in your salad, sandwich or soup. And if you are eating out, make a point of asking the restaurant to omit them.

To your good health,
TSF