Health News
Sprouts seen as source of European E coli poisoning
Jun 5, 2011, 16:24 GMT
Berlin - Sprouts sold by a supplier in northern Germany are the likely source of an E coli epidemic that has sickened thousands and killed at least 19 in Europe in recent weeks, a German agriculture minister said Sunday.
Conclusive results will likely not be available until Monday, but Gert Lindemann, agriculture minister for the German state of Lower Saxony, said all the people who have been sickened have eaten food that received shipments from one supplier in the country of Uelzen.
'A picture of the trade always shows the way back to this grower,' said Lindemann. 'From our view, this is the most concrete source.'
Lindemann did not name specifically what kind of sprout might be the source of the epidemic and indicated several varieties may have played a role. His ministry recommended avoiding eating all sprouts for the time being.
He noted that investigations are still ongoing.
