10/15/2026
My mom called me to say sprouts are back in the news for a food safety issue and urged me to remind folks how they are different from micros. Here goes!
Microgreens vs. sprouts: different parts of a
plant, NOT the same history! ๐ฑ
With the lettuce outbreaks in the news this year, a lot of us are a little salad-shy, a little suspicious of our green leafies. We hear it all the time as we promote microgreens: "Oh, these look good, but aren't they prone to...making people sick?"
Totally fair question! The answer is no - microgreens have a low risk of contamination because we only harvest the greens, not the seed or the root. It all comes down to which part of the plant you're eating and how it's grown:
โ๏ธ MICROGREENS are the young leaves and stems of a plant. They grow up in fresh air with light and warmth for a few weeks, and then we harvest by hand above the roots. Only the green, leafy part is called the microgreen. Grown in a greenhouse, the controlled environment makes contamination extremely unlikely for micros, especially when following farming best practices. (Which we do, we are GAP certified).
๐๏ธ SPROUTS are the very first stage of a seed: the seed, the root and the tiniest stem together comprise the sprout. They're grown in a warm, damp, sauna-style space for just a few days, a cozy spot for bacteria to party if any hitched a ride on the seed. And the whole thing gets eaten. That's why sprouts, most often alfalfa and clover, have been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli for decades.
Microgreens are considered much lower risk than sprouts.
Tell a friend! Micros are easy to eat, super nutritious, and will not give you a month of tummy trouble.
