EU vegetables

On June 6 Russia imposed ban on import of European berries. Retail chains should withdraw European fresh and frozen berries from circulation. The ban concerns particularly strawberries and blackberries. Apart from Russia Saudi Arabia has also introduced ban on vegetables import from the EU countries.

According to the European Commission, 23 people have died of this E. coli strain to date. The overall number of those infected has exceeded 2,000 in 13 EU countries. Though the source of the contaminated food has not been detected yet.

Source: www.fruitnews.ru

Russia has banned the import of all fresh vegetables from the European Union because of the E. coli outbreak centered on Germany. More than 1,500 people have been infected by the deadly enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). 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.The country’s chief medical officer and head of Consumer protection agency Gennady Onishchenko said EU-produced vegetables would be seized across Russia. He criticized food safety standards in the EU. “This shows that Europe’s lauded health legislation – one which Russia is being urged to adopt – does not work,” he said.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk