Are alfalfa sprouts safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about alfalfa sprouts during pregnancy?

1. A risk assessment focused on alfalfa sprouts notes that sprouts were linked to about 46 documented outbreaks and 2,474 illnesses in the United States between 1996 and 2016, with Salmonella the most commonly reported pathogen in those outbreaks. 1
2. Washing does not solve the underlying problem: research on seed sprout outbreaks found that disinfecting seeds and sprouts with chlorinated water or other sanitizers fails to eliminate the bacteria once they're present. 2
3. The reason washing falls short is that bacteria can infiltrate cracks, crevices, and internal spaces of the seed coat itself before sprouting even begins, putting them out of reach of surface disinfectants like chlorine. 3
4. Salmonella infection during pregnancy carries stakes beyond a typical stomach bug: it can cause bacteremia in about 4% of cases, and passing the infection to the baby is more likely when it happens close to delivery, with rare cases of miscarriage reported from infection of the amniotic fluid. 4
5. A review of edible sprouts found that clover and alfalfa sprouts were implicated in most documented sprout outbreaks between 2010 and 2020, while mung bean sprouts, the type usually sold as 'bean sprouts,' appeared in only one outbreak during that period. 5

Is alfalfa sprouts safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. The contamination risk doesn't change by trimester: bacteria living inside the seed coat are there before the sprout ever reaches your plate, so there's no early-pregnancy amount that's fine. The simplest approach is to skip raw alfalfa sprouts starting now.
• Second trimester. As nausea eases and salads, wraps, and deli sandwiches often sound appealing again, watch for alfalfa sprouts tucked in as a garnish. Asking a restaurant or deli to leave them off is an easy way to sidestep the exposure.
• Third trimester. Salmonella infection is more likely to pass to the baby when it happens close to delivery, according to MotherToBaby's guidance on Salmonella in pregnancy, so continuing to skip raw alfalfa sprouts through the third trimester still matters.