The death toll from an E. coli outbreak in Europe rose to 16 on Monday. Officials say 15 people died in Germany and one woman died in Sweden after returning from a trip to Germany. The bacteria, which authorities believe is coming from cucumbers grown in Spain, has sickened about 1,000 in Germany and hundreds of others in Spain, Sweden, Britain, Denmark, France and the Netherlands.
The outbreak has caused tension between Germany and Spain. Spanish authorities took offense to German authorities identifying cumbers grown in Malaga and Almeria as the possible source of the outbreak. “You cannot use speculation to demonize a production system that is absolutely serious, reliable and controlled,” said Josep Puxeu, the secretary of state for rural affairs.
Spanish authorities are conducting their own investigation in to cucumbers from Malaga and Almeria. Results from their tests are expected later this week.
Fear over contaminated produce has already prompted many European stores to pull all Spanish produce off their shelves and halt buying more. It is estimated that Spanish farmers will lose millions of dollars a day. The European Commission warned it is too soon to put bans on particular products.
"The Commission notes that the outbreak is limited geographically to an area surrounding the city of Hamburg. Also, efforts to pinpoint all possible sources of contamination are well under way and have already yielded preliminary results. It would, therefore, consider any ban on any product as disproportionate,” the commission said.
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