Sprouts are actually considered a high-risk food when it comes to food safety. Experts include them in the same category with raw milk, raw meat, and raw eggs.

Forgot link to more info... http://foodsafety.wsu.edu/consumers/faq.htm#19

Thanks for the info MA912! It makes me appreciate the fact they forgot the sprouts on my sandwich today, since I'm pregnant!

Yea, although I love the fresh crunch of spouts on a sandwhich I will typically leave them out due to the high risk. Having said that I dont go out of my way to take them out of an already made sammich.

I agree with the high risk statement. Everytime I have gotten food poisoning it has been from sprouts in a sandwich. Even growing them at home doesn't mean they will be safe.

I don't want them from a restaurant or store, but I do feel like growing your own CAN be much safer. After all, you expect to be more diligent about cleanliness and rinsing your own food, no?
I don't care for them enough to go to the trouble, but years ago I went on a kick and the home-grown sprouts absolutely taste much better. That pretty much killed me ever wanting to purchase them ... because you even can smell the difference.

I love sprout so much..and I'm super disappointed that over the years they have become high risk. I have stayed away due to this too..and wish it wasn't so..:-(

A few years ago, I sprouted some wheat berries for a whole grain bread (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Cookbook, I believe). It was like being back in science class. I'd race home from work every evening to see their progress. Maybe I'll do it again this fall.

I was always curious about trying raw milk but also a little bit concerned about the safety of doing it. Hearing that it is in the same category as sprouts I will definitely try raw milk if I have the chance. Probably not the reaction the commenter was going for, since instead scaring me of sprouts I gotten more comfortable with the idea of raw milk, but seriously, raw sprouts get eaten a lot here in Switzerland and only very rarely are there any problems. If we're still flying and using cars why should we stop eating sprouts?

You can sprout seeds like alfalfa and broccoli at home without soaking, and it may work for larger seeds but I've never tried.

Get a new, clean terra cotta tray (the kind that goes under a terra cotta flower pot) and a pan that it will fit into leaving a bit of room all around. Soak the terra cotta tray until it's saturated with water, but has no visible water inside it. Dry the inside with a towel if necessary.

Put enough water in the pan to come up about half way on the terra cotta tray, put a single layer of dry seeds in the tray, and cover with a plate. Put somewhere where you won't forget it, and check under the plate daily. Add water to the pan as necessary, to keep the water about half way up the terra cotta.

Within a few days you'll see sprouts starting. Once they're well started leave the plate off so they can green up. I let my broccoli sprouts get long enough to "scythe" with a knife. Easy peasy, and no soaking of the seeds. Just enough moisture soaks through the terra cotta to keep them alive and growing, but not enough for the seeds to get slimy or nasty, as has happened when I've tried the soaking method.

The thing about sprouts is that the seeds can be contaminated before you ever even plant them... and then the sprouts become contaminated. That's why they are so risky. So growing at home isn't necessarily safer. In fact, before I knew this, I picked up a pack of sprout seeds and there was a warning about E.coli on the back.

As for raw milk, Fulinin, it is *extremely* high risk. It is on par with eating raw chicken. As an adult, you have the choice to take the risk... just please don't give it to infants, children, or anyone with a compromised immune system. They can die if they get sick.

You should sprout things and cook them!! Almost all grains, nuts, and seeds can be sprouted, and their health benefit is vastly improved by doing so - BUT you should still cook them!! The health risk people are talking about above is for raw sprouts, which should be consumed only in moderation or not at all. Alfalfa sprouts are especially bad for you - we shouldn't ever consume alfalfa products. Lentils, chick peas, almonds, wheat berries - any of these things can and should be sprouted before cooking with them, and you'll get a whole lot more bang for your buck! For an excellent overview of this topic see the book "Nourishing Traditions". This whole American thing about eating sprouts raw is wacky.

P.S. Alfalfa sprouts contain canavanine, which an amino acid and is toxic for humans if we eat too much of it. Good sprouting literature will tell you never to eat alfalfa sprouts.

I sprout all my beans before cooking big batches of them in the slow cooker.