The sprouts industry has a dismal track record for food
poisonings and none of the control measures that have been tried so far appear
to be working well.
That’s why Dr. Doug Powell, a specialist is food safety
communications, cites sprouts as one of the riskiest foods on the market.
Robert Wong, chief executive officer and chief operating
officer of Agri-Neo Inc., believes he has the answer.
He came to the annual meeting of Ontario Agri-Food
Technologies to talk about his innovative approach to ridding dried foods and
seeds of harmful bacteria.
He said traditional approaches, such as cooking or treating
with chlorine, don’t work well for seeds and products such as dried fruits.
His company’s approach uses oxidation. It leaves no residue,
is “completely harmless” and won’t change flavour, colour or texture of the
products being treated.
It has government approval in both Canada and the United
States, he said, and “it’s as safe as it can get.”
He said 70 per cent of foods are “kill treated,” such as
pasteurizing milk and cooking ready-to-eat products.
Thirty per cent are low-moisture products and need a
different approach to eliminating bacteria and fungi-based food-safety challenges.
He listed seeds, sprouts, spices and dried fruits as
candidates for his company’s services.
