MORE than 30 people in the North West were struck down with a serious stomach bug because of contaminated beansprouts.
Experts from the Health Protection Agency, the body which safeguards the public, have confirmed a link between infected beansprouts and 34 cases of the salmonella in the region. The source of the outbreak has not been established, but officials stress beansprouts are safe to eat provided they are washed and cooked until piping hot or labelled ready-to-eat.
Meanwhile, caterers and those cooking at home are reminded to keep raw beansprouts (including those ready-to-eat) separate from other salad products to avoid the risk of contamination.
Professor Qutub Syed, from the HPA, who is chairing an outbreak control team, said: “As time went on our investigations produced increasingly strong evidence of an association with beansprouts in this outbreak.”
