Control of microbial growth on rice sprouts

Summary Different methods were investigated to prevent microbial hazards during rice sprouting. Disinfection of rice seeds before germination resulted in an immediate but temporary fall in microbial counts, except for minor populations (e.g. coliforms growing at 44 °C), which were totally eliminated. The levels were otherwise back to those of unsanitized seeds 24 h later. In‐process sprays of chlorinated water failed to limit the growth of residual bacteria. Post‐harvest decontamination was considered to improve the microbiological quality of sprouts. Experiments with artificially inoculated seeds demonstrated that immersing sprouts for 5 min in 60 °C water could decrease potential Listeria contamination to a safe level but that immersion would have no effect on the numbers of Bacillus cereus unless the temperature was increased to 100 °C.