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c < INTELLIGENCER PHOTOS BY JENNIFER BELL Effie Trinidad (above), a harvester at Canadian Organic Sprout Company in Belleville, packs alfalfa sprouts under carefully-controlled conditions at the Bell Boulevard plant. Below, quality controller Marina Gaidamaka examines samples of sprout seeds under a microscope. < "Meat, dairy and eggs alone are responsible for thousands of foodborne illnesses every year, but it seems that every time you pick up a newspaper or watch the news, there is something negative about sprouts," said Barker. "Because we're a small industry, it's very damaging." Canadian Organic Sprout Company is the only national sprout grower with an in-house laboratory and independentlyadministered quality control process, said Barker, "and that means we are self-regulating in an industry that as yet has no regulating body. We take what we do very seriously."