
Scientists Seek Strategies to
Safeguard Fresh SproutsBy Marcia Wood July 27, 2000Fresh sprouts make a crisp, crunchy and
healthful addition to sandwiches, salads, soups, omelets and other dishes. Now,
studies by Agricultural Research Servicescientists may lead to new ways to help protect raw sprouts from attack by
E. coli, Salmonella or other pathogenic microorganisms. These microbes can flourish in the warm, moist indoor environment in which
seeds are induced to sprout, according to microbiologist Amy O. Charkowski at
Albany, Calif. Seeds purchased by "sprouters"--the growers who run
the indoor operations that yield sprouted seeds--may already be contaminated by
microbes harbored in irrigation water, fertilizer, or bird or mouse droppings,
according to Charkowski. She is with the Food Safety and Health Unit at the ARS
Western Regional Research Center in
Albany. In laboratory studies with radish, alfalfa, broccoli and mung bean sprouts,
Charkowski wants to determine what compounds produced naturally by the
sprouts--such as amino acids--nurture the attacking microbes. She will then
determine whether harmless bacteria might be applied to the sprouts to deprive
the food-poisoning microbes of the compounds vital to their attack. In other experiments, Charkowski intends to pinpoint genes that
Salmonella turns on--or "expresses"--when it colonizes
sprouts. Once scientists know which Salmonella genes are crucial to
successful attacks, the researchers may be able to develop a strategy to
activate and amplify sprouts natural protective mechanisms. Charkowski anticipates that the genes Salmonella activates are likely
the same as those it uses when it invades other fresh produce--and perhaps
meats and poultry. If that is the case, food safety strategies developed from
the sprout research may also help protect these other foods from
Salmonella. ARS is USDAs chief research agency.
Scientific contact: Amy O. Charkowski, Food Safety and Health
Research Unit, ARS Western Regional Research Center, Albany, Calif.; phone
(510) 559-5647, fax (510) 559-5948, [email protected]. Story contacts Marcia A Wood U.S. Department of Agriculture |