Salmonella Detected In Brooklyn Alfalfa Sprouts

You've likely heard about the FDA's recall on eggs by now, but the Salmonella scare has now reached the beloved alfalfa sprout as well! Specifically, alfalfa sprouts packaged at Snow White Food Products... located at 621 Bergen Street in Brooklyn. Dun dun dun. The New York State Agriculture Commissioner, Patrick Hooker, alerted consumers of the recall today, noting a presence of Salmonella was found.

If you have a 3.5 ounce plastic clamshell container of this stuff, you should consider tossing it. A little background: "Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea that may be bloody, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain." No illnesses have been reported due to the sprouts... yet.

As for the egg recall, it hasn't reached New York. However, over at HuffPo Animal Factory author David Kirby warns of buying cheap, factory farm eggs—noting that spending the extra cash on organic, humanely produced eggs is worthwhile since Salmonella "is largely a problem for factory-farmed eggs."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Food on August 19, 2010 4:15 PM

Comments [rss]

Spirit of 76

If in doubt, buy alfalfa seeds and grow your own sprouts. It's not that hard and you can be sure about what's in your sprouts, not to mention it's much cheaper. The only additional cost is that it takes a little bit of your time rinsing them every day for a few days.

nicemarmot

I don't want to grow my own veggies, because then they would all be covered in the same black crap that coats my whole neighborhood. I can't avoid living in it - the huge gaps between the window frames and the walls in my building guarantee that - but I try to avoid eating that stuff. The whole "grow your own" thing only works when your environment is LESS disgusting than the factory farm.

Cannibal

Sprouts don't grow outside, they grow in your kitchen!! So it's definitely cleaner than the supermarket, where cross contamination is more likely.

A sprout is just seedling. Even when you are planting garden (or outdoor) vegetables from seeds you usually want to sprout them inside, where you have more control, and then transfer them when the plants are a little early. Spouts at the supermarket are just a bunch of seeds that have sprouted and not put into the ground, so there is also less risk of e coli, pesticides, and other nasty things that come from outdoor planting.

here is a link of how to grow sprouts

http://www.sproutpeople.com/

I have not done it yet myself, im usually too impatient to wait, even though it is only a couple of days.

Politburo

I've done it a bunch of times with equipment and instructions from that website. Very easy, and as 76 said, way cheaper than buying them in the store. Plus you can get all kinds of different varieties.

Gothamist_Cynic

Mexicans have been peeing on hipster crop for years.

jpeditor

"Mexicans have been peeing on hipster crop for years."

I wonder who they learned that from...

hotstepper

HOLY SHIT!!

EVERYBODY FREAK OUT!!!!

longacre

Yikes, the sushi I had for lunch had alfalfa sprouts in it. Thankfully I picked most of it out because I'm not a rabbit.

militza

whenever I hear about alfafa sprouts

I think of Mitch Hedberg and his schtick about club sandwiches.

"I like my sandwiches with alfalfa sprouts. Well then you're not in the f*ckin club!"

RIP

amsci

Every time I encounter a broken escalator, I remind myself that they didn't actually break. They just became stairs.

Mitch was amazing.

joeknows

whenever i hear about alfalfa sprouts i think of Pee-Wee Herman and his schtick where he says:

It looks like hair...

It smells like hair...

It tastes like hair...

IT IS HAAAAAIIIIIIR!!!!!!!

RevWaldo

The sprouts shouldn't pose a risk if they're battered and deep-fried.

[kidding of course - buy new alfalfa sprouts, then batter and deep-fry those.]

DOA FLOATER

Wait, help me out because I'm a brain dead moron...

If no one has gotten sick from these yet, how the hell do they know there might be salmonella in the sprouts?