Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019).

"Sprouts" are newly germinated seeds that are consumed raw or cooked. Despite nutritional benefits, sproutsx000D
can harbour human pathogens including Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Listeria. To meet health and safetyx000D
regulations, sprout growers must sanitize their seeds and carefully control growth conditions and continuallyx000D
test their seeds and products for human pathogens.x000D
This partnership is between Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd., a Canadian sprout growing in Courtenay, BC,x000D
and the Haney Lab at UBC. Eatmore Sprouts would like to know if the presence of beneficial microbes on theirx000D
sprouts, either derived from seeds, or introduced during production, can protect their products from humanx000D
pathogens. Plants normally associate with a complex community of microbes (their "microbiome") that assistx000D
them with nutrient uptake from the soil and protect them from plant pathogens. Plants acquire theirx000D
microbiome from both the seed (inherited from their parent) and from the soil. It is possible that removingx000D
these microbes may leave sprouts vulnerable to colonization by poorly adapted human pathogens.x000D
Eatmore sprouts using an organic sanitation method that may have a lower impact on endogenous microbesx000D
and be more compatible with introducing beneficial microbes post sanitation than traditional chlorine-basedx000D
methods. This project aims to determine whether Eatmore Sprout's seed sanitation and traditional sanitationx000D
can leave sprouts vulnerable to non-adapted human pathogens. Additionally, we plan to test whetherx000D
introducing microbes post sanitation can help protect from a pathogen outbreak. Collectively this work willx000D
help inform Eatmore Sprouts about best practices to further minimize the risk of contamination by humanx000D
pathogens.