Russia bans EU vegetables over E. coli scare

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia on Thursday banned the import of fresh vegetables from European Union countries because of a deadly bacteria scare, as Germany kept up the hunt for the source of the bug that has killed 17 people.

Announcing the ban, Russia's top consumer protection official took the opportunity to slam European Union food safety standards.

"The fresh vegetable import ban affecting all EU countries went into effect this morning," consumer protection agency chief Gennady Onishchenko said, Interfax reported.

Vegetables already shipped in from the European Union "will be seized across Russia", Onishchenko said.

Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) can result in full-blown haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) -- a disease that causes bloody diarrhoea and serious liver damage.

The move came as officials in Germany, which has suffered all but one of the 17 fatalities, kept up the hunt for the cause of the deaths. Hundreds more people have fallen sick.

On Monday, Russia banned fresh vegetable shipments from Spain and Germany, warning the sanction could soon be applied to all EU countries if it failed to receive a proper explanation as to how the fatal disease was being spread.

But German and EU officials have been unable to find the cause of the outbreak. After initially blaming it on organic cucumbers imported from Spain, they backed off from that position on Wednesday.

Onishchenko said orders to stop all incoming European vegetable shipments had already been issued to Russian customs authorities.

"I call on people to forgo imported vegetables in favour of domestic products," he said.

Onishchenko, one of Russia's most outspoken health officials, has in the past thrown himself into the centre of political and diplomatic disputes.

On Thursday, he said the latest outbreak proved that Russia's food safety standards were being more professionally observed than those in Europe.

"This shows that Europe's lauded health legislation -- one which Russia is being urged to adopt -- does not work," he said.

"I am far from believing that my colleagues in Germany and other European countries lack professional skills," he said.

"But their hands are tied by an overly-politicised atmosphere."

Onishchenko added that "it was obvious" that Spanish cucumbers could not have been the true cause of the problem.

Russia has been quick in the past to ban the import of products that are also produced locally.

While this has ostensibly been on health grounds, some critics have accused the authorities of using this as a pretext to unfairly back Russian producers.

Spain has threatened to file a suit on behalf of its farmers against German authorities because of their initial claims and may seek financial compensation.

Germany's national disease centre has also admitted that the outbreak started nearly two weeks before the first infections were reported in mid-May.

The European Commission on Wednesday lifted its warning over the Spanish cucumbers after saying it could "not confirm the presence of the specific serotype (O104), which is responsible for the outbreak affecting humans."

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Vegetable scare hits Europe, 1st Ld-Writethru

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, Associated Press Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated Press – Fri?Jun?3, 11:57?am?ET

BERLIN – Schools have pulled raw vegetables from menus, piles of cucumbers sit untouched on shop shelves, and farmers say they're losing millions.

As scientists scramble to find the source of an E. coli outbreak linked to raw vegetables that has killed 18 in Europe and sickened nearly 2,000, consumers are swearing off lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes just in case.

"Cook it or don't eat it," Hamburg kidney specialist Rolf Stahl told reporters at a press conference about the epidemic on Friday. "That's my personal recommendation."

Consumers from the northern German city of Hamburg — the epicenter of the outbreak — to Bulgaria, Spain, France and Sweden were worried about which vegetables and fruit they could still eat and what they should avoid.

"We no longer offer cucumbers, people just won't buy them anymore," said Mehmet Tanis, a vegetable vendor at Berlin's busy weekly market in the city's Kreuzberg neighborhood, who says his weekly profit is down euro1,000 ($1,450).

"They're completely scared to get sick — even though we always get our cucumbers from Jordan. We're also selling 80 percent less lettuce, and only half the tomatoes."

Most of those sickened say they ate vegetables beforehand. But without being able to pinpoint the source, German health authorities have issued a broad warning to stay away from all tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

Hamburg officials initially suspected cucumbers from Spain after three samples tested positive for E. coli, but later tests showed they were infected with a different strain of the bacteria than the one behind the outbreak.

Nevertheless, the jitters have devastated the Spanish produce industry.

In Almeria, one of Spain's main agricultural regions and probably the hardest hit, the head of a farmer's association said the market for exports to the rest of Europe is still virtually dead.

Before the crisis, Almeria exported 20,000 tons of produce a day. Now many farmers are simply destroying their crops — often right in the fields where they grow — because of lack of demand and to avoid the cost of shipping them to special centers that grind unwanted crops for compost or animal feed, said Francisco Vargas, head of the Almeria chapter of the Spanish farm association Asaja.

In Madrid, defiant businessman Javier Zaccagnini said he has made a special point of eating cucumbers even though he's not a big fan, out of solidarity with the local farmers.

"My girlfriend bought some cucumbers and I was delighted to enjoy a fresh salad with her, to make a special effort," said the 56-year-old. "There isn't a problem with Spanish produce. I realized that very early on. I have no intention of changing any of my eating habits."

Italian Maurizio Duchi also brushed aside concerns as he went into a Rome supermarket on his lunch break to pick up chicken and a salad.

"The situation seems to be under control and in any case I really don't like cucumbers," he said.

But elsewhere others were being more cautious.

"I ask where the vegetables come from when I make my procurements now," said Jessica Eng, a vegetable vendor at the Saluhall market in Stockholm. "And I would not buy anything from Germany right now."

In salad-loving Paris, Julie Cutelli, a 31-year-old teacher, said the outbreak had affected her grocery shopping, though it hadn't pushed her to give up fresh greens altogether.

"I'm laying off the cucumbers and the tzaziki and started buying other crunchy vegetables instead, like radishes," said Cutelli. "But I'm not going to stop eating salads, that's for sure."

With farmers across Europe complaining of millions in losses, Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a telephone conversation late Thursday to push for EU help for those affected.

The current outbreak is considered the third-largest involving E. coli in recent world history, and it is already the deadliest with at least 17 dead in Germany and one in Sweden. Twelve people died in a 1996 Japanese outbreak that reportedly sickened more than 9,000, and seven died in a Canadian outbreak in 2000.

Among the 1,733 people sickened in Germany, 520 suffer from a life-threatening complication that can cause kidney failure.

Nine other European nations have reported a total of 80 people sick from the bacteria, most of whom had recently visited northern Germany, the World Health Organization said.

Russia on Thursday extended a ban on vegetables from Spain and Germany to the entire European Union to try to stop the outbreak spreading east, a move the EU quickly called disproportionate and Italy's farmers denounced as "absurd." No deaths or infections have been reported in Russia.

To calm worried customers, some bistros and restaurants in Berlin started putting up posters explaining to customers they are only offering "safe produce."

Across the country, schools, kindergartens and nursing homes took all raw vegetables off menus until further notice and in the western German city of Hagen, an elementary school was closed Friday after a student fell ill with E. coli.

In Austria, medical experts even went so far as to warn local football fans attending Friday's European football qualifier against Germany in Vienna to take extra precautions to avoid infection.

Michael Kunze, a doctor of social medicine in Vienna told the Austria News Agency that Austrian fans should wash their hands well and consider using disinfectant to avoid any possible transmission of the E. coli bacteria from the Germans saying "it can't be ruled out."

The news about tainted cucumbers in Germany even scared people as far away as Bulgaria where locals hesitated to buy the popular vegetable even when vendors offered proof the produce was from local farmers.

Market prices dropped five- to tenfold and on Friday cucumbers on some open markets in Sofia were traded as cheaply as 10 euro cents per pound.

In Ireland, where government officials dismissed suggestions of a threat from imported vegetables, shoppers remained suspicious.

At one Dublin branch of the German-owned Lidl chain, trays of Spanish iceberg lettuce were discounted two-thirds but attracting few takers.

"I don't feel confident buying anything green and fresh today," said Ann O'Leary, 32, a Dublin homemaker. "We're going to be eating a lot of overcooked meats, a lot of canned food, and a lot of pasta until we're given the all clear."

She skipped the vegetable row of the supermarket entirely, stopping only for two bunches of bananas and a net of oranges. "I figure anything with a strong peel on it is safe to eat. I won't get scurvy at least!"

___

Associated Press writers across Europe contributed to this story.

View the original article here

Vegetable scare hits Europe

BERLIN – Schools have pulled raw vegetables from menus, piles of cucumbers sit untouched on shop shelves, and farmers say they're losing millions.

As scientists scramble to find the source of an E. coli outbreak linked to raw vegetables that has killed 18 in Europe and sickened nearly 2,000, consumers are swearing off lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes just in case.

"Cook it or don't eat it," Hamburg kidney specialist Rolf Stahl told reporters at a press conference about the epidemic on Friday. "That's my personal recommendation."

Consumers from the northern German city of Hamburg — the epicenter of the outbreak — to Bulgaria, Spain, France and Sweden were worried about which vegetables and fruit they could still eat and what they should avoid.

"We no longer offer cucumbers, people just won't buy them anymore," said Mehmet Tanis, a vegetable vendor at Berlin's busy weekly market in the city's Kreuzberg neighborhood, who says his weekly profit is down euro1,000 ($1,450).

"They're completely scared to get sick — even though we always get our cucumbers from Jordan. We're also selling 80 percent less lettuce, and only half the tomatoes."

Most of those sickened say they ate vegetables beforehand. But without being able to pinpoint the source, German health authorities have issued a broad warning to stay away from all tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

Hamburg officials initially suspected cucumbers from Spain after three samples tested positive for E. coli, but later tests showed they were infected with a different strain of the bacteria than the one behind the outbreak.

Nevertheless, the jitters have devastated the Spanish produce industry.

In Almeria, one of Spain's main agricultural regions and probably the hardest hit, the head of a farmer's association said the market for exports to the rest of Europe is still virtually dead.

Before the crisis, Almeria exported 20,000 tons of produce a day. Now many farmers are simply destroying their crops — often right in the fields where they grow — because of lack of demand and to avoid the cost of shipping them to special centers that grind unwanted crops for compost or animal feed, said Francisco Vargas, head of the Almeria chapter of the Spanish farm association Asaja.

In Madrid, defiant businessman Javier Zaccagnini said he has made a special point of eating cucumbers even though he's not a big fan, out of solidarity with the local farmers.

"My girlfriend bought some cucumbers and I was delighted to enjoy a fresh salad with her, to make a special effort," said the 56-year-old. "There isn't a problem with Spanish produce. I realized that very early on. I have no intention of changing any of my eating habits."

Italian Maurizio Duchi also brushed aside concerns as he went into a Rome supermarket on his lunch break to pick up chicken and a salad.

"The situation seems to be under control and in any case I really don't like cucumbers," he said.

But elsewhere others were being more cautious.

"I ask where the vegetables come from when I make my procurements now," said Jessica Eng, a vegetable vendor at the Saluhall market in Stockholm. "And I would not buy anything from Germany right now."

In salad-loving Paris, Julie Cutelli, a 31-year-old teacher, said the outbreak had affected her grocery shopping, though it hadn't pushed her to give up fresh greens altogether.

"I'm laying off the cucumbers and the tzaziki and started buying other crunchy vegetables instead, like radishes," said Cutelli. "But I'm not going to stop eating salads, that's for sure."

With farmers across Europe complaining of millions in losses, Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a telephone conversation late Thursday to push for EU help for those affected.

The current outbreak is considered the third-largest involving E. coli in recent world history, and it is already the deadliest with at least 17 dead in Germany and one in Sweden. Twelve people died in a 1996 Japanese outbreak that reportedly sickened more than 9,000, and seven died in a Canadian outbreak in 2000.

Among the 1,733 people sickened in Germany, 520 suffer from a life-threatening complication that can cause kidney failure.

Nine other European nations have reported a total of 80 people sick from the bacteria, most of whom had recently visited northern Germany, the World Health Organization said.

Russia on Thursday extended a ban on vegetables from Spain and Germany to the entire European Union to try to stop the outbreak spreading east, a move the EU quickly called disproportionate and Italy's farmers denounced as "absurd." No deaths or infections have been reported in Russia.

To calm worried customers, some bistros and restaurants in Berlin started putting up posters explaining to customers they are only offering "safe produce."

Across the country, schools, kindergartens and nursing homes took all raw vegetables off menus until further notice and in the western German city of Hagen, an elementary school was closed Friday after a student fell ill with E. coli.

In Austria, medical experts even went so far as to warn local football fans attending Friday's European football qualifier against Germany in Vienna to take extra precautions to avoid infection.

Michael Kunze, a doctor of social medicine in Vienna told the Austria News Agency that Austrian fans should wash their hands well and consider using disinfectant to avoid any possible transmission of the E. coli bacteria from the Germans saying "it can't be ruled out."

The news about tainted cucumbers in Germany even scared people as far away as Bulgaria where locals hesitated to buy the popular vegetable even when vendors offered proof the produce was from local farmers.

Market prices dropped five- to tenfold and on Friday cucumbers on some open markets in Sofia were traded as cheaply as 10 euro cents per pound.

In Ireland, where government officials dismissed suggestions of a threat from imported vegetables, shoppers remained suspicious.

At one Dublin branch of the German-owned Lidl chain, trays of Spanish iceberg lettuce were discounted two-thirds but attracting few takers.

"I don't feel confident buying anything green and fresh today," said Ann O'Leary, 32, a Dublin homemaker. "We're going to be eating a lot of overcooked meats, a lot of canned food, and a lot of pasta until we're given the all clear."

She skipped the vegetable row of the supermarket entirely, stopping only for two bunches of bananas and a net of oranges. "I figure anything with a strong peel on it is safe to eat. I won't get scurvy at least!"

___

Associated Press writers across Europe contributed to this story.

View the original article here

E. coli scare over raw vegetables spreads across Europe

E. coli

at a market Friday in Madrid. Many people in Europe are swearing off lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes amid the E. coli outbreak, even though the source hasn't been determined. (Denis Doyle, Getty Images)

BERLIN — Schools have pulled raw vegetables from menus, piles of cucumbers sit untouched on shop shelves, and farmers say they are losing millions.

As scientists scramble to find the source of an E. coli outbreak linked to raw vegetables that has killed 18 in Europe and sickened nearly 2,000, consumers are swearing off lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes just in case.

"Cook it or don't eat it," Hamburg kidney specialist Rolf Stahl told reporters at a news conference about the epidemic Friday. "That's my personal recommendation."

Consumers from the northern German city of Hamburg — the epicenter of the outbreak — to Bulgaria, Spain, France and Sweden were worried about which vegetables and fruit they could still eat and what they should avoid.

"We no longer offer cucumbers; people just won't buy them anymore," said Mehmet Tanis, a vegetable vendor at Berlin's busy weekly market in the city's Kreuzberg neighborhood, who says his weekly profit is down $1,450.

"They're completely scared to get sick, even though we always get our cucumbers from Jordan," he said. "We're also selling 80 percent less lettuce and only half the tomatoes."

Most of those sickened say they ate vegetables beforehand. But without being able to pinpoint the source, German health authorities have issued a broad warning to stay away from all tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.

Hamburg officials initially suspected cucumbers from Spain after three samples tested positive for E. coli, but later tests showed they were infected with a different strain of the bacteria than the one behind the outbreak.

Nevertheless, the jitters have devastated the Spanish produce industry.

In Almeria, one of Spain's main agricultural regions and probably the hardest hit, the head of a farmers association said the market for exports to the rest of Europe is still virtually dead.

Before the crisis, Almeria exported 20,000 tons of produce a day. Now many farmers are simply destroying their crops.

The current outbreak is considered the third-largest involving E. coli in recent world history, and it is already the deadliest.

To calm worried customers, some bistros and restaurants in Berlin started putting up posters explaining to customers they are offering only "safe produce."

View the original article here