Hi Mark, > I share your skepticism, but still, the FDA's charges need to be responded > to in some way. Are 20,000 people a year really getting sick > from sprouts, > or is the government's data bogus? If it is not bogus, then a more > thoughtful solution to the problem is needed than that of simply giving up > eating uncooked sprouts. I suspect the solutions are out there, but they > don't meet the FDA's conventional "scientific" standards. I don't think the problem should be ignored; just put into perspective. Unfortunately life is risky; we have to get away from this idea that any food is 100% at all times without risk for every consumer. The amount of harm caused by sprouts in these rare cases is infinitesimally tiny compared to that caused by confectioners or the pop-drink conglomerates, but you never hear calls to ban candy bars. There is not a lot of financial pressure on the FDA to 'not' take the easy way out. Also, are these illnesses actually killing people? I have not heard that. My SIL's deceased ex-husband, a diabetic, was killed by confections at less than age 30. > I wonder how many of these illnesses involve home-grown sprouts grown from > organic seeds? The FDA is concerned that the sterilizing > chemicals are not > killing all of the bacteria. Organic seeds are not treated with ANY > chemicals. If the FDA's theory is correct, then consumers of organic > sprouts should be getting sick at an even higher rate. But I haven't seen > any data to indicate that this is so. It shouldn't be too hard to test. No incentive for them to demonstrate this though. > But let's face it: there are more bugs on raw food. Sure, cooking kills > most of them, but it kills many of the health benefits of the food too. > Those who think we live in a world of hostile microbes will always turn to > solutions involving cooking, zapping, or poisoning. Raw juices in stores > seem to on their way out, too. But the way to health lies in focusing on > making our biological terrain healthy so that we can live in peace with > these critters, not in trying to kill them off with chemicals, drugs, > cooking, radiation, etc. Agreed. Raw apple cider just disappeared around here last year. Paul