i've always loved sprouts...but have stopped eating them due to this information.
I get these seeds from Azure Standard out of Oregon. I haven't dug very deep into what & how they do, and instead just assume that it'll be fine if I do a modicum of safety procedures:
After sorting for rocks (I remember an HN article about how much better the rock-picking hardware-software system has become; I remember picking numerous rocks from beans as a kid, and I often find zero at any stage along the way), I rinse the seeds in water by swirling them around awhile by hand, pour that off, and submerge the lot in filtered water in a glass container, covered with a cloth to keep out insects.
I smell-check every time I rinse, and am surprised that it doesn't smell like it's rotting. Maybe there are chemicals in the hulls that confer some protection? From what I've read from library books (there's a surface-level Doring-Kindersley book that seems a decent start), sprouting changes some of the chemical composition, reducing/metabolizing the "protecting" compounds and spinning up the "grow grow grow!" machinery.
I don't get sick very often, and I don't remember the last time I ever suspected food poisoning, and there's not much I avoid (except the ultra-processed stuff these days, and all the items on the GERD list, which includes onions and garlic, I forgot to note originally).
Sprouts are a raw food. They are safe as the conditions raised and handled. Sprouts you grow yourself with sanitary procedures from certified seeds are extremely unlikely to cause any problems. Sprouts grown at scale and shipped through a network of distribution channels before being consumed… yikes.
Maybe blanching? Dunno if there's a duration long enough to kill surface inhabitants without harming the seed.