Children, pregnant women and the elderly should not eat alfalfa sprouts until growers find a way to reduce the risk of a deadly bacteria that infects some sprouts, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday. California health officials had urged vulnerable consumers to stop eating sprouts because of three food poisoning outbreaks in the state. Sixty consumers in California fell ill after eating tainted sprouts during the summer, officials said.
[Ed.: The Centers for Disease Control estimated that alfalfa sprouts caused 20,000 cases of salmonella poisoning among Americans in 1995.]
