International Specialty Supply
Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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International Specialty Supply Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World
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820 East 20th Street Cookeville, TN 38501 USA 931 526 1106
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ISS
Certified Sprouting Seed SproutNet International Specialty Supply April 16, 2002 To
date, there is no known method that is 100% effective in eliminating Salmonella
or E.Coli 0157H:7 from seed or sprouts once they are contaminated.
So it just makes sense to start with seed that is not contaminated in the
first place. The key is in properly drawing, inspecting, and testing a
large enough sample to significantly reduce the odds of the seed having
salmonella or E.coli 0157H:7 ISS
has a rigid procedure that samples, screens and tests for these pathogens.
Nobody can guarantee that the seed is free of pathogens, however, we furnish you
with the documentation of what sampling, screening and testing we did, when it
was done, and the results. In some
cases, depending on the size of the lot and the amount of seed sampled, the
sampling, screening, and testing procedure can reduce the statistical odds of
having seed that is contaminated with these two pathogens by 99.99999%. Many
seed suppliers just send off a sample to a lab in order to have a piece of paper
to give their customers. The lab
tests 20 grams (less than an ounce).
With this type of test, even if the seed were contaminated, the odds of
finding it in a 20-gram sample are about 2%.
If a seed supplier gives you this type of a test, consider it worthless
- health inspectors do. If you
are a sprout grower, either purchase your seed from ISS and insist on an ISS
Certified Seed Certificate or insist that whoever you buy your seed from
provides you with a written explanation of their testing methodology and the
results of each step, who did it, and when.
Once you receive the seed, it is wise to sample, inspect, and test it
again. Pre-testing
the seed you use needs to be part of your HACCP plan and you need to have
the documents that show you are implementing the plan. Have your ISS
Certified Sprouting Seed Certificates readily available when health inspectors
come. We offer a wide variety of sprouting seed. Near the bottom of each SproutNet, we will feature the ISS Certified Sprouting Seed Certificate for one of the seeds we have for sale. The Certificate shows what tests were done to that lot of seed, what the results were and when each test was done. The person who did each test and signed off on the results initials the actual Certificate. |