Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kokua Line
Question: Regarding the bean sprouts pulled off supermarket shelves a few weeks ago: The reason was finding levels of bacteria in excess of new standards. Why was the public not notified of this in a more prominent way? The only reference was about the unavailability of the sprouts in a back section of the paper. I would think that salmonella and E. coli warrant big headlines. How would I know the bean sprouts served in restaurants, especially in fast-food places, did not come from contaminated sources and are safe to eat? Bean sprouts never
posed health dangerAnswer: There was never any public-safety risk regarding the sprouts, according to Maurice Tamura, manager of the state Food and Drug Branch.
He said that the company involved, HPC Foods, does its own screening for possible contaminants and that this initial screening indicated "there might be some sort of bacterial contamination." But a more thorough test conducted by a laboratory turned out negative, "so there was no problem," he said.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has guidelines for the growing of sprouts.
"It's not a regulation. It's just a guideline to produce safe sprouts because there have been some problems on the mainland with harmful bacterial contamination of some of these sprouts," Tamura said. There have been "no illnesses reported locally attributed to sprout consumption," he said.
State and federal inspectors make periodic checks on sprouts, but "we cannot test it every day so we cannot guarantee every day's production," Tamura said.
The last advisory on sprouts was issued by the FDA in July 1999. Back then, the FDA said, "The sprout industry has been working in cooperation with government, academia and other industry segments to enhance the safety of its product.
"These efforts have focused primarily on seed treatment strategies, good manufacturing practices and sanitation."
If you're concerned about sprout consumption, the FDA advises people who want to reduce the risk of possible illness not to consume RAW sprouts. Those at risk of developing serious illness from foodborne diseases include children, the elderly and persons with weakened immune systems.
The FDA advises cooking sprouts, since cooking significantly reduces the risk of illness and to check sandwiches and salads purchased at restaurants and delicatessens, because they may contain raw sprouts.
For more information, check the FDA's Web site: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/ and search under "raw sprouts."
More tax-prep sites
The IRS, which co-sponsors the Tax-Aide Program with AARP, says four additional tax preparation sites will be open:
Hawaii Services on Deafness, 310 Paoakalani, No. 201A: Appointments for hearing-impaired. Call Audris or Cathy, 926-4793 Voice/TTY or email Wataoka@HSOD.hawaii.rr.com
Tax sites were listed in yesterday's Kokua Line. Tax-Aide offers free help in preparing tax returns to the elderly, low-income, non-English-speaking and/or disabled.
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com