E. coli: EU bans Egyptian seeds after fenugreek link

The EU has banned the import of some Egyptian seeds and beans after fenugreek was linked to the E. coli outbreaks in Germany and France.

The European Food Safety Authority linked a batch of fenugreek seeds to outbreaks which claimed 48 lives.

Imports of seeds and beans "for sprouting" will be frozen until 31 October, EU officials said.

All fenugreek seed imported from one particular Egyptian company since 2009 would be destroyed, they added.

Seeds and spores

Member states decided to impose the ban after seeing the European Food Safety Authority's report, the European Commission said in a news release.

"The decision provides that imports of Egyptian seeds and beans for sprouting are suspended until 31 October," it added.

The banned items were defined as "seeds, fruit and spores used for sowing; leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled; fenugreek; dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split; soya beans, whether or not broken; other oil seeds and oleaginous fruit, whether or not broken".

In 2010, the EU imported about 49,000 tonnes of the types of seeds affected by the ban from Egypt , the commission said.

Their total value was more than 56m euros (£51m; $81m).

"The report published today leads us to withdrawing some Egyptian seeds from the EU market and to a temporary ban on imports of some seeds and beans originating from that country," the European Commission's Health and Consumer Commissioner, John Dalli, was quoted in the press release as saying.

"The commission will continue to monitor the situation very closely and will take additional measures if necessary."

 

- BBC