“Sprout seeds can be contaminated when they’re grown, cause they’re grown outside,” says food safety attorney Bill Marler, of Seattle, “When the Sprouts are sprouted, you have to be exceedingly careful with the quality of the water, and how those sprouts are germinated because it’s like a perfect growing environment for bacteria.”

Other media citing Food Safety News:

LA Times, Reuters, Daily Mail, The Consumerist, CBS News, Huffington Post, Fox News, MSNBC, Etc.

For more on Listeria Cantaloupe and other poisonous foods:

Watch the full episode. See more KCTS 9 Connects.

Smoking gun elusive in deadly E. coli outbreak

Illnesses can occur days after tainted food is eaten and leftovers thrown out, so "the trail gets cold pretty quick," said Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in food poisoning cases.

E. coli outbreak points to gaps in US food system

That's why Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in food poisoning cases, petitioned USDA to mandate beef testing for the other E. colis, knowing that other foods tend to follow the meat industry.

"If E. coli O157 is an adulterant in hamburger, then these other bugs should be, period," he said.

Europe's Deadly E. Coli Outbreak a 'Wake-Up Call' Over Global Food Distribution

In August of 2010, Veron Foods, LLC of Prairieville, Louisiana recalled approximately 500,000 pounds of “ready to eat” sausage and hog head cheese products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The following products were subject to recall:

A Louisiana State Report noted the 14 ill from the Veron products.  In yesterday’s Morbidity Mortality Weekly Review (MMWR), the CDC reported that a total of 14 cases of laboratory-confirmed invasive listeriosis were reported to the Louisiana Office of Public Health (OPH). Isolates of Listeria monocytogenes from the blood samples of eight patients were identified as serotype 1/2a and had pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern combinations that were indistinguishable from one another.  Eight patients had illnesses that met the case definition. Their median age was 64 years (range: 38--93 years). Six patients were men; no patients were pregnant. Six patients had one or more underlying medical conditions (i.e., human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection, alcohol abuse, cancer, and diabetes mellitus). Illness onsets occurred from February 18 to June 16. Signs and symptoms included fever (n = 6 patients), altered mental status (n = 3), diarrhea (n = 3), vomiting (n = 3), and weakness (n = 2). Seven patients were hospitalized; two patients died.

Listeria can be a very nasty bug.  For more information, see www.about-listeria.com.

• Collaborative investigative efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies have linked this outbreak to eating cantaloupe. On March 22, 2011, Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. voluntarily recalled cantaloupes. Consumer should not eat recalled cantaloupes and restaurant and food service operators should not serve them.

• 60 Reported cases of illness (59 in Rhode Island, 1 in Massachusetts)

• 27 Hospitalizations (22 Discharged, 5 Current)

• 31 Lab-confirmed Salmonella

The number of cases of Salmonella linked to DeFusco's Bakery in Johnston, Rhode Island has increased to 43 people. Health officials said 22 of those people have been hospitalized. Of the 43 cases, 42 were from Rhode Island and 1 was from Massachusetts. On Tuesday, health officials said a man who tested positive for salmonella died on March 23. The man was in his 80s and lived in Providence County.

This is the second time Palmyra Bologna has been linked to a bacterial outbreak - Salmonella in 1995.