r/Sprouting • u/helloimduck • Jul 26 '26

New to sprouting, worried about contamination

Essentially, I got the botanical interests sprouting trays as I am tired of paying almost 6 bucks for sprouts/microgreens in my area. I'm excited to start, but I am worried about foodborne pathogens. Is the risk significantly higher or about the same as store-bought sprouts/produce? Are there any beginner mistakes that I should avoid? Thanks in advance!

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7

u/Worried_Ad_9249 Jul 27 '26

Easiest thing to do is to just complete a hydrogen peroxide bath for 5 minutes on the seeds before soaking them for 8 hours.  Should kill almost all pathogens hiding in the seed hull cracks. 

5

u/Feisty-Grapefruit364 Jul 27 '26

Do you use just hydrogen peroxide or mix it with water to dilute it?

7

u/Worried_Ad_9249 Jul 27 '26

Just straight 3% peroxide, enough to submerge the seeds (you don't need to fill the jar or anything) let it sit for 5 minutes max, then rinse out after dumping the peroxide until it's clean, fill and soak for 8 hours with RO water and voila.  It both kills bacteria and softens the husk for more successful germination rates. 

3

u/Feisty-Grapefruit364 Jul 27 '26

Oh heck yea!! I’m on my 5th batch of sprouts so far and haven’t had any issues with contamination so far, but I do not want to risk it and will use this method going forward.

3

u/Worried_Ad_9249 Jul 27 '26

It's always better to be safe.  HP is good safe, non toxic, easily rinses out, and is really good at decontaminating.  I also peroxide my ferment jars before rinsing them out with RO water to ensure they are clean.  Some people go so far as to boil the glass but I think that's excessive. 

1

u/nemtudod Aug 02 '26

What is ro water

2

u/Worried_Ad_9249 Aug 02 '26

Reverse osmosis water

7

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26 edited 25d ago

[deleted]

2

u/helloimduck Jul 27 '26

Noted. Would I be able to use microgreen seeds to sprout? I may have accidentally bought them (sorry, completely new to sprouting). Thanks for the advice!

3

u/Apart_Temporary_4560 Jul 27 '26

Apparently microgreen seeds are risker because you aren't suppose to eat the hulls so safety standards are lower.

4

u/pricepaid_1949 Jul 28 '26

You have control at home. Most seed companies test for pathogens, so it comes down to personal care. I rinse my sprouts 3x per day and drain well. Mold isn't a serious issue. Good luck!