Lee Ewing, President of Sunny Creek Farms checking sprouts.

Sprouts and Safety

In the space of about three weeks I had read comments from two different people that said that they wouldn’t eat sprouts because of food safety concerns. As I sat having a delicious sandwich with sprouts at an Asheville restaurant, I though about what I’d read. I decided it was time to pay a visit to Sunny Creek Sprouts in Tryon, North Carolina , the largest sprout provider in the Southeast, that proudly proclaims that they are celebrating their “…20th year of safe sprouts…we have not had a recall on a product.”. This is certainly not the case for the industry of sprout growers in general as there have been a number of documented food borne illnesses associated with sprouts. https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/types/fruits/sprouts.html

So what is it Sunny Creek Farm is doing differently or just better? According to Ed Mills, CEO and Lee Ewing, President, of Sunny Creek Farm, it is extreme vigilance and doing even more than the FDA requires in terms of testing their seeds and sprouts for safety. http://sunnycreekfarm.com/safety/culture-of-safety

1. Safe Seeds — Seeds for their sprouts are sourced worldwide from reputable companies. I saw bags of seeds from China and Italy as well as the U.S.
2. Sanitize Before Starting — Before they attempt to begin the sprouting process, seeds are put into a sanitizing agent and then rinsed again to remove any trace of that agent.
3. Swabbing Surfaces — The surfaces and growing tanks in the facility are randomly tested for listeria, e.coli 0157 and salmonella.
4. Safety of Sprouts — The sprouts are grown and not released from the factory until they are tested to make sure there is no detectable harmful bacteria (e.coli 0157, salmonella or listeria.
5. Safety on Site- Sunny Creek has a resident safety expert, a microbiologist that oversees all testing at their on site lab using specialized equipment that enables rapid testing for harmful bacteria.

Some of the other interesting things I learned at Sunny Creek Farm:

• Twice in the last few years the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has sent a video crew to record a video of growing, testing and handling practices at Sunny Creek. These videos are used by the USDA to train inspectors.
• Bean sprouts are grown in darkened rooms so photosynthesis doesn’t occur — otherwise your bean sprouts would be green instead of white!
• In addition to the many varieties of sprouts Sunny Creek grows and sells to retailers, co-ops and restaurants they also work with local farmers as a food hub, selling their produce and transporting their products across the Southeast.

Knowing the care and attention that Sunny Creek Farms puts into growing sprouts I have no fears about consuming them in a sandwich or on a salad!