An epidemic of salmonellosis has affected over 500 people in Europe. What has been caused by? From the consumption of sprouted seeds from Italy
In recent years, i buddled seeds They have become highly appreciated for their nutritional properties: rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, they are often inserted in healthy and vegetarian diets. However, their production, if rigorous food safety practices are not followed, can lead to some microbiological risks.
This is demonstrated bySalmonellosis epidemic that hit over 500 people in Europe and that, according to the investigations, would be linked precisely to the consumption of buddled seedsspecifically those of Alfalfa from Italy.
To reveal it is a joint relationship of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and of theEuropean Food Safety Authority (EFSA)published a few days ago.
The epidemic started in January 2023 but is still ongoing, new cases are still possible, at least until the causes of contamination in the production chain are certain with certainty.
The Salmonella epidemic
Between January 2023 and January 2025, they have been confirmed 509 cases of salmonellosis in nine countries of the European Union and the European Economic Spazio (EU/See), in addition to a case in the United Kingdom:
The epidemic involved eight different serotypes of Salmonella, including S. Adelaide, S. Entertidis and S. Typhimurium, some of which are very rare in Europe.
The cause? Precisely the sprouts, identified as a vehicle of infection in multiple national investigations, which was also confirmed by the analysis of the centralized sequencing of the entire genome (WGS) of the EU.
Investigators then brought back these products to A single Italian supplierwho had purchased them from three farmers located in the same Italian region. However, the analyzes conducted on the supplier’s stocks did not detect the presence of Salmonella, which could be due to the difficulty of identifying the bacterium in dried seeds.
Further investigations are underway to ascertain whether the contamination took place in other phases of the production and distribution chain. A 2023 FAO-WHO report has in fact underlined how the risk of bacterial contamination in the sprouts can occur in every phase of the process, from the selection of the seeds to the processing.
After the discovery of the origin of the epidemic, the authorities of the countries involved have adopted security measures, including the withdrawal and recall of the lots of contaminated sprouted seeds. However, new cases of salmonellosis continue to emerge, suggesting that contaminated products can still be in circulation.
And in Italy?
Despite the contaminated sprouted seeds come from Italy, there have been no cases of salmonellosis reported in our country. This could be due to the distribution of contaminated products, which has privileged export to northern Europe.
From the data issued by the ECDC we do not even know the name of the seed supplier.
The risks related to the consumption of shoots
This is not the first time that the consumption of sprouts causes an epidemic. For this reason, experts generally recommend to all categories most at risk (but in reality a little to everyone) to avoid the consumption of raw sprouts and to cook them always to reduce the risk of food infections.
