Russia bans EU vegetables due to E.coli fears

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia banned imports of raw vegetables from the European Union on Thursday because of a deadly E.coli outbreak centered in Germany, Russian media cited the head of the consumer protection agency as saying.

"A ban on the import of fresh vegetables from EU countries takes effect from this morning," Rospotrebnadzor head Gennady Onishchenko said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Russia had already banned imports of vegetables from Germany and Spain over the outbreak, which has killed at least 16 people and made more than 1,500 others ill in eight European countries. Its source is unknown.

Onishchenko said his agency had issued an order on the ban to Russia's customs service and also ordered raw vegetables from the EU removed from store shelves, Interfax reported. He urged Russians to be alert and to eat domestically grown vegetables

"We are imposing a ban because the situation has not been brought under control in a month. The sources of the infection and factors in its spread have not been established," state-run RIA quoted Onishchenko as saying.

"The situation has worsened sharply in recent days, and so we are forced to take these extremely unpopular measures."

The German disease control agency the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported 365 new E.coli cases on Wednesday, a quarter of them involving a life-threatening complication of a type of E. coli known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).

EU officials said three cases had also been reported in the United States, adding that most infections reported outside Germany involved German nationals or people who had recently travelled to the country.

EU Health Commissioner John Dalli, however, said the number of new cases appeared to be in decline.

Onishchenko said the deaths caused by the outbreak "demonstrate that the much-praised European sanitary legislation, which Russia is being urged to adopt, does not work," Interfax reported.

(Reporting by Steve Gutterman; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jon Boyle)

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Halgrimson: Set aside your fennel fears

 

This variety looks like a very fat, short, squished stalk of celery but with stems covered with frond-like leaves coming out of the top. It is known as Florence fennel or in Italy, finocchio.

When raw, both the chopped flesh and the fronds of bulb fennel are a fine addition to green salads. I also like to simmer chopped fennel with potatoes and mash them together with butter and a little milk or cream. Garnish with a few fronds.

Common fennel is the plant that produces the seeds that are so familiar to pizza lovers. They are also used to flavor liqueurs and have a flavor hinting of anise just as the bulb fennel does. While I do not like the harsh anise taste of licorice, I find the flavor of both bulb and common fennel an interesting addition to meals, or in soups, stews and braises. And with the temperatures as they have been in our so-called spring, soup is a necessity, so I’ll focus on using fennel in soup.

First, we start with the soup’s base. There is almost always a bowl of homemade chicken stock in my fridge. I make stock from the giblets, wing tips, neck and tail. After the chicken is taken from the bone, I add the bones along with a few handfuls of the carrot peels, onion skins, celery ends and parsley I save in the freezer. Covered with water and a little white wine and simmered, covered, for about 50 minutes, it makes a wonderful soup base. Drain and discard bones and vegetables after cooking.

Fennel Soup

6 to 7 cups chicken stock

1 fennel bulb, with fronds

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped

1/2 cup orzo

2 cups cooked chicken, diced

1/2 cup pitted Greek olives, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 teaspoons fennel seed, ground

Bring stock to a simmer in a large pot. Remove fronds from fennel bulb, wash them and roughly chop. Add to stock, cover and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove cooked fronds, squeezing out the juice, and discard.

Dice fennel bulb and in another pan, saute onion, celery and fennel in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add rice and cook for a few minutes. Add vegetables and orzo to stock and cook until orzo is almost done. Stir in chicken, olives, salt, pepper and fennel seed. Stir, cover and cook until orzo is done and chicken is heated through. Makes 4 servings.

Source: “The Food Lover’s Companion,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Tags: andrea hunter halgrimson,?life,?food,?columns

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