Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Shijia Yu
History
Sprouting is the practice of
germinating seeds to be consumed
either raw or cooked. Bean Sprouts
have been harvested for
thousands of years for its
nutritious as well as culinary
benefits. It is both consumed raw
and cooked while being utilized in
many Eastern Asian dishes. It
takes roughly 7-10 days for
sprouts to be fully grown and
ready to harvest. Bean Sprouts
compositionally are much more
nutritious then their fully grown
Bean counterparts. This
combination of qualities makes
Bean Sprouts especially appealing
for consumers as well as
producers. Medicinally, sprouts
have been used by Ancient
Chinese physicians to treat a
variety of ailments dated as long
as 5000 years ago. There are
accounts of sailors back in the
1700s plagued by scurvy which
results from a deficiency in
Vitamin C. The long voyages
sailors have to endured resulted in
many casualties along the way. In
an attempt to alleviate the
problem, Ship captains required
their sailors to consume a variety
of sprouts. The abundant vitamin C
found in young sprouts helped to
solve one of the biggest health
issue associated with long sea
voyages. Western interest didnt
really form until World War II. An
article written by Dr. Clive M.
McKay, Professor of Nutrition at
Cornell University dramatically
Types
Typically, bean sprouts are
produced from either mung beans
or soy beans. Mung beans are part
of Legume family and the genus
Vigna. Other food crops in the
same genus include adzuki beans,
black grams, and cowpeas.
Soybeans are also part of the
Legume family but the genus
Glycine. These two types of
sprouts have important
differences. Typically, soybeans
are a bit
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Home Germination
options
Production Guide
for
Bean
watering to
prevent
dryingSprouts
but
Big Thick Rooted Mungs: These contain root lengths between 1-3
inches long. They are rinsed and drained every 8-12 hours and are
Production Guide
for
Bean
keeps track
of the
growingSprouts
stage of
each bins.
As certain
factors
change
during
the
growing cycle, the computer adjust
for these changes and cater to the
needs of each individual bins.
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Production Guide
Bean
Sprouts
packagedfor
in plastic
bags and
boxes.
Health Concerns
The main health concern associated
with bean sprouts deal with bacterial
infection caused by salmonella and
certain forms of Escherichia coli.
Causes of such infections could be
due to unhygienic production
methods or the seeds could be
contaminated themselves. There
have been many pathogen outbreaks
throughout the world causing deaths
of several individuals as well as
thousands to be hospitalized. Some
speculate that the seeds from the
field may come to contact with
animal waste which contain harmful
bacteria. Optimal growing conditions
for sprouts is also a haven for
bacterial growth. In combination with
the insane replication rates of
bacteria, a small initial amount of
bacteria can contaminate the entire
batch in very little time. According to
the FDA, a single surviving bacterium
in a kilogram of seed can be enough
to contaminate a whole batch of
sprouts. There is no fool proof way of
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Production Guide
fortheBean
Sprouts
interfere with
absorption
of
Economics
In the coming years, I believe there
will be increase in demand for
sprouts. Thus, production of sprouts
will increase as well. Unlike many of
other vegetable production, large
scale sprout production is mainly
done indoors through mechanized
processes. The initial cost of
investment into equipment will be
high. Most methods of Sprout
production is not labor intensive
which reduces long term variable
costs. Herbicides and Pesticides
wont be necessary as the sprouts
are grown in closed control
environments. The variable input
cost for sprout production therefore
are significantly lower than other
types of vegetable production. The
low costs of production in conjunction
with sprouts health benefits will
drastically increase sprout production
and consumption in the coming
years.
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Production
Guide for Bean Sprouts
Works Cited
"Bean Sprout Production: An Overview." Bean Sprout Production: An Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 26
Apr. 2015.
"Growing Mung Bean Sprouts." Growing Mung Bean Sprouts. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
"Mung Bean Sprouts Health Benefits." Mung Bean Sprout Consumption Improves Cardio Health and
Longevity. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
"Sprout History." ISGA. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
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