Bean sprout

See sprouting for sprout vegetables in general. See Soybean sprout and Mung bean sprout for each subject.

soybean sprout and mung bean sprout

Sprouted mung beans

Bean sprouts are a common ingredient across the world. They are particularly common in Eastern Asian cuisine, made from sprouting beans.

There are two types of common bean sprouts:

• Mung bean sprout is made from the greenish-capped mung beans.
• Soybean sprout is made from yellow, larger-grained soybean.

It typically takes one week for them to be completely grown. The sprouted beans are more nutritious than the original beans and they require much less cooking time.

Names

	Bean sprout	Mung bean sprout	Soybean sprout
Cantonese	ngaa4 coi3 (芽菜)
Chinese	dòuyá (豆芽)	lǜdòuyá (绿豆芽)	huángdòuyá (黄豆芽)
Filipino		toge
Indonesian	kecambah	kecambah kacang hijau, taoge	kecambah kacang kedelai
Japanese	moyashi (もやし)	moyashi (もやし)	mamemoyashi (豆もやし)
Khmer	sândêkbândŏh (សណ្ដែកបណ្ដុះ)
Korean		sukjunamul (숙주나물)	kongnamul (콩나물)
Malay	tauge	tauge halus	tauge kasar
Taiwanese	tāu-gê (豆芽), tāu-tshài (豆菜)
Thai	tùua-ngɔɔk (ถั่วงอก)
Vietnamese	giá đỗ	giá đỗ xanh	giá đậu nành

Health concerns

Bacterial infection

FDA health warning on a sprouts package

Commercially grown sprouts have been associated with outbreaks of harmful bacteria, including salmonella and toxic forms of Escherichia coli. Such infections, which are so frequent in the United States that investigators call them "sproutbreaks", may be a result of contaminated seeds or of unhygienic production with high microbial counts. Sprout seeds can become contaminated in the fields where they are grown, and sanitizing steps may be unable to kill bacteria hidden in damaged seeds. A single surviving bacterium in a kilogram of seed can be enough to contaminate a whole batch of sprouts, according to the FDA.

To minimize the impact of the incidents and maintain public health, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada issued industry guidance on the safe manufacturing of edible sprouts and public education on their safe consumption. There are also publications for hobby farmers on safely growing and consuming sprouts at home. The recommendations include development and implementation of good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices in the production and handling of seeds and sprouts, seed disinfection treatments, and microbial testing before the product enters the food supply.

In June 2011, contaminated bean sprouts in Germany were identified as the source of the 2011 E. coli O104:H4 outbreak. In addition to Germany, where 3,785 cases and 45 deaths had been reported by the end of the outbreak, a handful of cases were reported in several countries including Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Canada and the USA. Virtually all affected people had been in Germany shortly before becoming ill.

Antinutritional factors

Some legumes, including sprouts, can contain toxins or antinutritional factors, which can be reduced by soaking, sprouting and cooking (e.g., stir frying). Joy Larkcom advises that to be on the safe side “one shouldn’t eat large quantities of raw legume sprouts on a regular basis, no more than about 550g (20oz) daily”.

Phytic acid, an antinutritional factor, occurs primarily in the seed coats and germ tissue of plant seeds. It forms insoluble or nearly insoluble compounds with many metal ions, including those of calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc, reducing their dietary availability. Diets high in phytic acid content and poor in these minerals produce mineral deficiency in experimental animals (Gontzea and Sutzescu, 1968, as cited in Chavan and Kadam, 1989). The latter authors state that the sprouting of cereals has been reported to decrease levels of phytic acid. Similarly, Shipard (2005) states that enzymes of germination and sprouting can help eliminate detrimental substances such as phytic acid. However, the amount of phytic acid reduction from soaking is only marginal, and not enough to counteract its antinutrient effects

Canavanine

Alfalfa seeds and sprouts contain L-canavanine. L-canavanine can potentially cause lupus-like disease in primates.

Standards and Regulations

EU Regulation

In order to prevent incidents like the 2011 EHEC epidemic, the European Commission has issued three new, tightened regulations on March 11, 2013.

• Regulation (EU) No 208/2013*

The origin of the seeds has to be traceable always at all stages of processing, production and distribution. Therefore, a full description of the seeds or sprouts needs to be kept on record.(see also Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002)

• Regulation (EU) No 209/2013*

This regulation amends Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 in respect of microbiological criteria for sprouts and the sampling rules for poultry carcases and fresh poultry meat.

• Regulation (EU) No 211/2013*

Imported sprouts or seeds intended for the production of sprouts need a certificate according to the model declared in the Annex of this regulation. The certificate serves as proof that the production process complies with the general hygiene provisions in Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and the traceability requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2013.

See also

• Mung bean sprout
• Soybean sprout
• Sprouting
• Wheatgrass
• List of Thai ingredients

External links

• Media related to Bean sprouts at Wikimedia Commons