The growing popularity of raw bean-sprouts may have triggered an outbreak of the salmonella bug in Britain, investigators revealed today.
Some 141 cases of the disease have now been linked to contaminated bean sprouts by laboratory testing.
Raw bean-sprouts are a feature of increasingly popular Chinese buffets and have become popular in supermarkets and salads also.
Now the Health Protection Agency has warned consumers they may have to eat only cooked bean-sprouts
Its advice says that raw bean sprouts should be kept separate from other salad products.
Professor Qutub Syed, of the HPA, said: "As time went on our investigations produced increasingly strong evidence of an association with bean sprouts in this outbreak. Now we have results from microbiological sampling to corroborate the findings of the epidemiological studies.
"The link with bean sprouts has been established."
He added: "However, no one should be put off eating bean sprouts, provided they are properly cooked. The risk is in eating raw or under-cooked bean sprouts.
"The best advice is to follow the guidance on the packaging, but if there is any doubt or ambiguity about the instructions, cook the sprouts until they are piping hot."
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