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Thanks for posting - i have issues related to gerd i am seeing a GI for at the moment. Could I ask - my understanding though with regards to sprouting is that

Thanks for posting - i have issues related to gerd i am seeing a GI for at the moment. Could I ask - my understanding though with regards to sprouting is that it's considered a potential source of salmonella, giardia and other food poisoning vectors as seeds and beans can accumulate fecal matter and once given sufficient temps and moisture, just propagate.... i've always loved sprouts...but have stopped eating them due to this information.

meristohm 3y ago
I grew up in hobby-farm country and my default is to trust that "it'll be fine", nowadays known as "YOLO"? I understand that I'm probably more lucky than right to not take thorough precautions. I get these seeds from Azure Standard out of Oregon. I haven't dug very deep into what & how they do, and instead just assume that it'll be fine if I do a modicum of safety procedures: After sorting for rocks (I remember an HN article about how much better the rock-picking hardware-software system has become; I remember picking numerous rocks from beans as a kid, and I often find zero at any stage along the way), I rinse the seeds in water by swirling them around awhile by hand, pour that off, and submerge the lot in filtered water in a glass container, covered with a cloth to keep out insects. I smell-check every time I rinse, and am surprised that it doesn't smell like it's rotting. Maybe there are chemicals in the hulls that confer some protection? From what I've read from library books (there's a surface-level Doring-Kindersley book that seems a decent start), sprouting changes some of the chemical composition, reducing/metabolizing the "protecting" compounds and spinning up the "grow grow grow!" machinery. I don't get sick very often, and I don't remember the last time I ever suspected food poisoning, and there's not much I avoid (except the ultra-processed stuff these days, and all the items on the GERD list, which includes onions and garlic, I forgot to note originally).
winny314 3y ago
Do you have experience with illness related to eating sprouts?
voakbasda 3y ago
From what I understand, Oregon passed food safety laws that effectively prohibited sprouts at restaurants, for the sorts of reasons you describe. A sandwich shop that I frequented put sprouts on most of their sandwiches, and then one day they were gone. Sprouts are a raw food. They are safe as the conditions raised and handled. Sprouts you grow yourself with sanitary procedures from certified seeds are extremely unlikely to cause any problems. Sprouts grown at scale and shipped through a network of distribution channels before being consumed… yikes.
- an_aparallel 3y ago
  thats the thing - with sanitary procedures: im assuming a soak of hydrogen peroxide...followed by rinse? Is that sufficient to sprout safely?
  - meristohm 3y ago
    I've read that an H2O2 soak is a reasonable precaution to reduce bacterial load, but I haven't done it yet. If I started doing that I'd be going through a lot of hydrogen peroxide. Maybe blanching? Dunno if there's a duration long enough to kill surface inhabitants without harming the seed.
    - an_aparallel 3y ago
      There's an indian snack of sprouted lentils zapped in the microwave for a minute or so? followed by a light sprinkly of cumin, salt, and lime/lemon juice. It's quite awesome.

meristohm 3y ago

I grew up in hobby-farm country and my default is to trust that "it'll be fine", nowadays known as "YOLO"? I understand that I'm probably more lucky than right to not take thorough precautions. I get these seeds from Azure Standard out of Oregon. I haven't dug very deep into what & how they do, and instead just assume that it'll be fine if I do a modicum of safety procedures: After sorting for rocks (I remember an HN article about how much better the rock-picking hardware-software system has become; I remember picking numerous rocks from beans as a kid, and I often find zero at any stage along the way), I rinse the seeds in water by swirling them around awhile by hand, pour that off, and submerge the lot in filtered water in a glass container, covered with a cloth to keep out insects. I smell-check every time I rinse, and am surprised that it doesn't smell like it's rotting. Maybe there are chemicals in the hulls that confer some protection? From what I've read from library books (there's a surface-level Doring-Kindersley book that seems a decent start), sprouting changes some of the chemical composition, reducing/metabolizing the "protecting" compounds and spinning up the "grow grow grow!" machinery. I don't get sick very often, and I don't remember the last time I ever suspected food poisoning, and there's not much I avoid (except the ultra-processed stuff these days, and all the items on the GERD list, which includes onions and garlic, I forgot to note originally).

winny314 3y ago

Do you have experience with illness related to eating sprouts?

voakbasda 3y ago

From what I understand, Oregon passed food safety laws that effectively prohibited sprouts at restaurants, for the sorts of reasons you describe. A sandwich shop that I frequented put sprouts on most of their sandwiches, and then one day they were gone. Sprouts are a raw food. They are safe as the conditions raised and handled. Sprouts you grow yourself with sanitary procedures from certified seeds are extremely unlikely to cause any problems. Sprouts grown at scale and shipped through a network of distribution channels before being consumed… yikes.

an_aparallel 3y ago
thats the thing - with sanitary procedures: im assuming a soak of hydrogen peroxide...followed by rinse? Is that sufficient to sprout safely?
- meristohm 3y ago
  I've read that an H2O2 soak is a reasonable precaution to reduce bacterial load, but I haven't done it yet. If I started doing that I'd be going through a lot of hydrogen peroxide. Maybe blanching? Dunno if there's a duration long enough to kill surface inhabitants without harming the seed.
  - an_aparallel 3y ago
    There's an indian snack of sprouted lentils zapped in the microwave for a minute or so? followed by a light sprinkly of cumin, salt, and lime/lemon juice. It's quite awesome.