Sweden: Siltanews – News Desk
In Sweden there has been a recall as authorities continue to investigate a different Salmonella outbreak also linked to sprouts.
Folkhälsomyndigheten (the Public Health Agency of Sweden) said 92 people from 18 regions have been infected with one of 12 genetically closely related Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type (ST) 36 variants.
Authorities made a connection between illness and consumption of alfalfa sprouts germinated from a certain seed batch. SydGrönt and Munkagrodden issued a recall and stopped germination from the seed lot. Products have a best before date of Nov. 24 to Dec. 3.
“We carry out careful quality checks and pasteurize seeds before germination. We take the incident seriously and are now investigating together with the authorities,” said Eva Bendroth, from Munkagrodden.
Work including sampling, analysis, and tracking is ongoing with help from the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) and other agencies.
In the mean time we have another question here why are people pouring milk down the drain over a cow feed additive!
Some UK social media users have been pouring milk down their sinks and toilets in protest at the trial of a new feed additive that claims to significantly reduce the emission of methane gas in dairy cows. Arla Foods, a Danish-Swedish company which owns the UK’s biggest dairy cooperative, announced last week that 30 of its farms across the country would test the additive, named Bovaer.
The company says Bovaer – which is added in small quantities to cow feed – could reduce cow methane emissions by between 30-45%. It has been approved for use by UK regulators, and several major supermarkets will stock milk produced by cattle eating feed with the additive.
Some online users have raised concerns around the use of Bovaer, citing issues around the safety of certain compounds used in it. However, experts have told the BBC that the additive “does not pose any food safety issues”.
Other consumers have been threatening to boycott products from leading supermarkets in anger over the trial, while multiple farmers have taken to social media to inform consumers that they don’t use Bovaer.
Meanwhile, baseless claims of it being part of a “depopulation” plot have swirled online alongside misinformation about its links to US-billionaire Bill Gates.
The manufacturer, DSM-Firmenich, says “mistruths and misinformation” have been spread about its product. It says it is “totally safe” for use, and has been tested over many years in many countries.