 During the past few years, a new and unexpected cause of foodborne illness has been in the news. Sprouts. Sprouts have recently been recognized as the cause of outbreaks of foodborne illness here in the United States and in other countries around the world. Hi, I'm John Wallace. And I'm Jane Kweeby. This video is designed to help you realize and understand the dangers of foodborne illnesses and also to provide valuable food safety information on seed production and processing that will help eliminate the spread of disease and avoid harming the public. This video series has broken down into a number of specific modules. In module one, we will review food safety and what constitutes a foodborne illness. Module two addresses legal requirements and suggested food safety guidance. Module three addresses all aspects of sprout processing practices from seed production to the sprouting operation. Module four will address personnel practices and procedures to help ensure that employees follow proper techniques that will reduce the spread of pathogens. And finally in module five, we will point you to additional materials that will be valuable to you. So what are foodborne illnesses? Foodborne illnesses are those sicknesses that result from eating food that contains harmful microbes called pathogens. These pathogens cause symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. That's fever also occurs. Usually these illnesses do not cause serious health problems, but certain groups such as the very young, the elderly, and the immunocompromised may be more susceptible to serious complications of foodborne illness. These may include severe outcomes such as paralysis, kidney failure, or even death. For each illness that health authorities hear about in a foodborne outbreak, there are many other illnesses that happen in the community that are never reported. This is because illnesses are reported to health authorities by doctors or laboratories. So if a person does not seek medical care or the doctor does not get a stool sample from the ill person to send to the laboratory, the illness will probably not be reported. For example, in some foodborne outbreaks caused by the pathogen called salmonella, it's estimated that for each reported case of illness, there are another 37 illnesses that go unreported. This means that even a small outbreak involving 20 reported illnesses may actually mean that several hundred people were ill. Also many foodborne illnesses occur that are not part of recognized outbreaks. Overall, it is estimated that about 76 million foodborne illnesses occur in the U.S. each year, resulting in thousands of deaths. The economic burden from missed work and productivity is estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Over the past several years, sprouts have become a common fresh produce item linked to foodborne illness, especially salmonella infections and E. coli 0157H7. A scientific advisory group to the Food and Drug Administration has recognized sprouts as a special problem. This is because bacterial pathogens that may be present on sprout seeds at the time of sprouting can multiply to very high levels during the sprouting process. Since 1995 in the United States, at least 13 outbreaks due to eating seed sprouts have been recognized, resulting in over 1,000 laboratory confirmed illnesses. It is likely that several thousand other illnesses also occurred but were not reported. Two deaths were reported to be associated with these outbreaks. In the United States, some of these outbreaks were quite large and affected people living in many states. Two types of pathogens, salmonella and E. coli 0157H7, are important causes of foodborne illness associated with sprouts. In addition to the usual gastrointestinal symptoms, salmonella infections can sometimes spread to the blood and cause serious or even fatal illness, especially in small children, the elderly or in persons who do not have normal immune systems. Infection with E. coli 0157H7 causes severe bloody diarrhea and in small children can cause kidney failure. Any type of raw sprout can become contaminated with pathogens and cause illness. Alfalfa sprouts have been the most frequent kind of sprout involved in foodborne outbreaks in the United States. However, other types of sprouts, including clover and radish sprouts, have also been linked to illness. Most sprout outbreaks are due to seed that is contaminated with pathogens before the sprouting process begins. It's not surprising that sprout seed can be contaminated with pathogens. Like bacteria like salmonella or E. coli 0157H7 are commonly carried in the intestines and excreted in the feces of many kinds of animals. Sprout seeds are a raw agricultural product that can come into contact with animal feces anytime during growing, harvesting, processing or storage. Bacterial pathogens can be found in animal manure used as fertilizers and fields or they may contaminate irrigation water. Many pathogens can survive for months under the dry conditions used for seed storage. Although contaminated alfalfa seeds have been identified as the source in many outbreaks, any type of sprout seed may be contaminated with bacterial pathogens. Because alfalfa, clover or other seeds used for sprouting are not primarily grown for human consumption, the crops growing, harvesting, storage or processing conditions may provide many opportunities for contamination. Public investigators have been able to recover the same bacteria from ill people and from the same seed lots used to grow the sprouts. Once contaminated seeds are brought into a sprouting facility, this contamination can be transferred to other sprouts and seeds by a process known as cross-contamination. This emphasizes the need to have good manufacturing practices and a careful quality control program for sprout production. These outbreaks causing illness and even deaths have created much concern by consumers. The families of some ill persons have initiated lawsuits. Consumer groups have begun to demand a safer sprout product or to have sprouts carry warning labels advising consumers of the risk of illness from consuming the product. Some groups have even suggested banning the sale of raw sprouts. There have been both negative and positive consequences of this problem for the sprout industry. On the negative side, some sprout facilities which produce sprouts that caused outbreaks have gone out of business. In some areas, product sales may have decreased and retailers may have less interest in carrying sprouts. On the positive side, the sprout industry has worked with government and academia to fund important research to investigate ways to disinfect sprout seeds and to develop manufacturing guidance. Regulatory agencies have been working with academia and the sprout industry to develop specific guidance for sprout growers. They have also been working with the industry to conduct research into seed disinfection methods and microbial testing. Although there have been commendable efforts by industry and regulatory agencies working together to address sprout safety issues, the problem has not yet gone away. This may be due to several reasons. Recent information on seed disinfection methods may not yet have reached all sprouters or if it has, it may not have been put into practice. While some sprouters are quite knowledgeable on food safety and sanitation issues, others are less experienced. Regulators may need to consider more stringent measures on sprouts if outbreaks continue to occur. To review, foodborne illnesses are those sicknesses that result from eating food that contains harmful microbes called pathogens. Foodborne disease causes millions of illnesses in the United States each year. Since 1995, in the United States, at least 13 outbreaks due to eating seed sprouts have been recognized, resulting in over 1,000 laboratory confirmed illnesses and at least two deaths. Although two types of pathogens, Salmonella and E. coli 0157H7, frequently cause foodborne illness associated with sprouts. Other bacterial pathogens may also be important. Alfalfa sprouts have been implicated in most sprout-associated foodborne outbreaks. Other sprouts, including clover and radish sprouts, have also been linked to illness. Most sprout outbreaks are due to seed that is contaminated with bacterial pathogen before the sprouting process begins. Once contaminated seeds are brought into the sprouting facility, this contamination can be transferred to other sprouts and seeds by a process known as cross-contamination. Sprouts are now recognized as an important cause of foodborne illness that has had an impact on the public, the industry, and upon regulators.