What is the recommended strategy for healthy individuals consuming alfalfa sprouts to reduce microbial load?

Cooking them thoroughly, such as lightly steaming them.

While alfalfa sprouts offer many nutritional benefits, the inherent risk of bacterial contamination requires proactive safety measures for consumption, especially for healthy adults. The most reliable method recommended for mitigating this microbial risk involves the application of heat. Cooking the sprouts until they are thoroughly done significantly reduces the presence of harmful bacteria that might be present on their surfaces or internally. Specifically, light steaming is mentioned as a preferred method over consuming them completely raw, such as when used in salads or sandwiches. This heat treatment effectively diminishes the microbial load, making the sprouts significantly safer for ingestion compared to consuming them in their raw state.