German beansprouts latest suspect in deadly E.coli outbreak
Gert Lindemann, agriculture minister for Lower Saxony, said investigators had tracked the new and deadly strain of the E.coli 0104 bacteria to a farm in the Uelzan region.
The farm is near Bienenbuettel – a town 70km south of Hamburg, the centre of outbreak that has sparked a crisis in the fresh produce sector across Europe and seen Russia ban all vegetable exports from the economic bloc.
Lindemann suggested there could be clear links between vegetables from the farm and food eaten by some victims.
"We've got a really hot lead," the minister said.
Alfalfa sprouts, mung bean sprouts, radish sprouts and arugula sprouts, as well as bean sprouts from the farm might be connected to the outbreak, he said.
According to reports, the farm has been shut down and its produce recalled. Results from a raft of test are expected later today.
In the meantime, the Minister cautioned consumers not to eat any type of beansprouts.
However, officials said they were still not certain if the farm was the only source. Lindemann said it was possible the contaminated produce had found its way into a variety of foods.
"There was a very clear trail (to the farm) as the source of the infection," he added. "It is the most convincing ... source for the E.coli illnesses. This is for us the most plausible cause of the illness."
German authorities have been under increasing pressure to find the source of the disease that has struck down people in 12 countries - all of whom had been travelling in northern Germany. Many of those infected have developed haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a potentially deadly complication attacking the kidneys.
Over the weekend, the European Commission said it was willing to dispatch experts in epidemiology of food borne diseases to aid German authorities.
“Their goal would be to assist the competent German authorities with the ongoing epidemiology, verify the results and contribute to the ongoing investigations to speed up the identification of the source,” said Brussels.
