What foods are high-risk?
Examples of high-risk foods include raw (unpasteurized) milk and raw-milk cheeses (Raw milk cheese is particularly risky if it fresh rather than aged), raw and undercooked meat and poultry, raw and undercooked eggs, and uncooked seafood from contaminated water. Home-canned vegetables, meat and fish that were not processed correctly are also high-risk. Uncooked sprouts are also on the list of high-risk foods. Back to top Why are raw sprouts on the list of high-risk foods? To produce sprouts, seeds are soaked then kept moist for several days while they sprout. The conditions for sprouting a seed are ideal for bacteria growth. Thus, if the seeds are contaminated with bacteria, the numbers may be very high in the sprout. Ways to remove bacteria from seeds for sprouting are being investigated. Cooked sprouts are not in the high-risk category. Back to top Why are some people at high risk for foodborne illness? Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that can cause severe illness in some people,
