Resources

Educational Materials and Tools

SSA is dedicated to assisting sprout growers and producers in identifying and implementing best practices in the safe production of sprouts. The Alliance is building a comprehensive educational and reference library in this section and we welcome your input.

If you would like to submit additional resource materials to this section, please contact SSA Coordinator Yuqiao Jin, Ph.D with suggestions at sproutalliance@iit.edu.

Note: Please check these pages frequently for updated resource materials. If you experience any difficulties downloading materials or discover broken links, please contact us via email.

SSA Curriculum

Safer Sprout Production for Produce Safety Rule Compliance

SSA Sample Documents

Sprout Safety Related References (Full Text)

SSA Webinars

Updates to the FDA Guidance for Sprout Growers, June 26, 2024. Recording | Presentation | Sprout Specific Resource Links

Testing Requirements for Sprout Operations, November 15, 2019.

Is Listeria under Control in Your Sprout or Microgreen Operation?, September 30, 2019.

Best Practices in Sprout Production

IIT IFSH Auditing and Inspection Checklist for Sprouting Facilities

Released in 2011, IIT IFSH's Sprout Safety Taskforce's ground-breaking audit checklist, along with on-site beta test results validating its effectiveness in a real-world setting, is designed to improve sprout safety best practices.

IIT IFSH Auditing and Inspection Checklist for Sprouting Facilities: Appendix A—Antimicrobial Treatments for Sprouting Seeds

Useful reference list of published studies evaluating antimicrobial treatments for sprouting seeds.

Disclaimer: Some of the methods listed in Appendix B below have not been through multi-lab validation to gain the AOAC Official Methods of Analysis (OMA) status. For a list of FDA approved equivalent methods for testing E. coli O157 and Salmonella in spent sprout irrigation water or sprout samples, please see https://www.fda.gov/food/laboratory-methods-food/equivalent-testing-methodologies-e-coli-o157h7-and-salmonella-spent-sprout-irrigation-water

IIT IFSH Auditing and Inspection Checklist for Sprouting Facilities: Appendix B—Validated Test Kits for Microbial Testing of Spent Irrigation Water during Sprout Production

Useful list of AOAC Official Methods, Performance Tested Methods, and other validated tests for microbial testing of spent irrigation water during sprout production.

Existing Sprout Safety Training Materials

Sprout Videos: Food Safety Best Practices for Sprout Production (2024)

• Cleaning and Sanitizing in a Sprout Production Environment

• Environmental Sampling in a Sprout Operation

• Seed treatment

• Sampling and Testing of Spent Sprout Irrigation Water (Or In-process Sprouts)

Sprout Videos: Safer Processing of Sprouts (2000)

Module 1

• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 1 Introduction to Food Safety

Module 2

• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 2 Requirements and Guidelines for Sprouters Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 2 Requirements and Guidelines for Sprouters Part 2

Module 3

• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3A Seed Growing, Harvesting, Milling, Transportation & Storage Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3A Seed Growing, Harvesting, Milling, Transportation & Storage Part 2
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3B Sprout Production Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3B Sprout Production Part 2
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3C Seed Treatment
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3D Sampling and Microbiological Testing Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3D Sampling and Microbiological Testing Part 2
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3E Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment and Facilities Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 3E Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment and Facilities Part 2

Module 4

• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 4 Personnel Practices Part 1
• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 4 Personnel Practices Part 2

Module 5

• Safer Processing of Sprouts: Module 5 Review and Additional Materials

The California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition jointly developed this video in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, university researchers and industry representatives to assist the industry in producing a safer product. The video may also be useful for retailers, regulators, and anyone working with the industry who wants to better understand the product and current recommendations for best production.

Training Materials From Other U.s. Food Safety Alliances

Juice HACCP Training Curriculum, First Edition, August 2002

This course manual and accompanying generic HACCP plans and overheads were developed by the Juice HACCP Alliance, a group comprised of federal and state food inspection officials, university food science educators and juice industry representatives. The course was designed to meet the HACCP training requirements established under 21 CFR Part 120.13 of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's mandatory juice HACCP inspection program.

National Seafood HACCP Alliance Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Training Curriculum, Fifth Edition, 2011

This training curriculum provides a current, convenient and cost-effective education and training program to assist commercial and regulatory compliance with the prevailing requirements for product safety during processing and import of any seafood in the United States.

Other Materials of Interest

Records Required by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule- by Produce Safety Alliance

European Food Safety Authority. Scientific Opinion on the Risk Posed by Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Other Pathogenic Bacteria in Seeds and Sprouted Seeds