International Specialty Supply

Supplying Sprout Companies Throughout the World

 

ISS

820 East 20th Street

Cookeville, TN 38501 USA

931 526 1106

Bob@sproutnet.com

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ISS Seed Screening Procedures

We have been asked by many, including the International Sprout Growers Association, to make our seed screening procedures available to other seed companies and sprout growers.  We are pleased to do so in the interest of food safety within the sprout industry.

  1. Inspect Shipment.  Quarantine the seed and inspect the bags for evidence of contamination.  Such things would include mouse droppings, holes in the bags that appear to have come from rodents or insects dead insect parts, etc.  Turn off the lights and inspect the bags under black light for traces of urine.  Examples of urine under black light can be found in any men's restroom.  Record any findings.
  2. Sample Seed.  Sample 1/1000th of every bag using a seed trier or other procedures described by the ISTA Handbook on Seed Sampling, Second Edition, January, 2004, International Seed Testing Association.   In a large shipment, this may be many kilograms.  If the composite sample, which is 1/1000th of the shipment or lot, does not come to 3 kg, start over and collect additional samples until the composite sample equals at least 3 kg.  Record lot information and sampling information.
  3. Inspect the Composite Sample.  Visually inspect the seed for damage and for evidence of contamination.  Such things would include dirt, mouse droppings, glass, metal, live or dead insects or animals, etc.  Then do the same suing a magnifying glass.  A 2X magnifying glass is a good start, but using several different powered magnifying glasses is preferable.  Pull out anything that is suspicious and inspect it more thoroughly under a microscope.  Record any findings.
  4. Sprout the Composite Sample.  Sprout the sample, without sanitizing it, using the rotary drum or tank method. 
  5. Test Runoff Water.  Collect two 1-liter samples of the runoff water at approximately 48 hours using FDA procedures recommended for commercial sprout producers.  Record production and collection times and methods.  Enrich and test both samples for Salmonella, Generic E.coli, E.coli 0157:H7. Inspect the sprouts for quality and possible presence of plant pathogens.  Record lab findings and results of inspection.  If there is Salmonella or E.coli 0157:H7 reject the seed and contact the company that sold you the seed.

Unfortunately, you rarely find seed that passes steps one through three without detecting any irregularities.  Those three steps are just to help a person make an educated decision about the safety of the seed.  If, for instance, a seed lot were full of mouse droppings it would be rejected regardless of the results of a pathogen test.  But it is not practical to reject a lot if there are a few damaged seeds, or a dead insect stuck to the outside of a paper bag.  This information is reviewed and the risk evaluated.  

We are happy to go into more detail or help anyone set up a seed screening program.