E. coli: Russia bans import of EU vegetables

Russia has banned the import of all fresh vegetables from the European
Union because of the E. coli outbreak centred on Germany. The
country's chief medical officer said EU-produced vegetables would be
seized across Russia. More than 1,500 people have been infected by
enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which can cause the deadly
haemolytic-uraemic syndrome (HUS). Seventeen people have died - 16 of
them in Germany and one in Sweden. The World Health Organization says
that the E. coli bacterium behind the outbreak is a new, mutant
strain. Earlier suggestions that infected Spanish cucumbers were the
source of the outbreak have now been discounted, with German health
officials admitting they do not know where this particularly virulent
strain of of E.coli has come from. The EU regarded the Russian ban as
"disproportionate" and would be lodging a protest, European Commission
spokesman Frederic Vincent said.He added that the total value of EU
exports of fresh vegetables to Russia was 600m euros a year, a quarter
of the total exported. Spain, France, Germany and Poland are the
biggest exporters. Russia banned vegetable imports from Germany and
Spain earlier this week.
---------------BBC ONLINE