Source:  John Strak, MEATINGPLACE, 7/6/11

A task force set up by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) to trace the source of the French and German outbreaks of E. coli O104:H4, has concluded that one lot of fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt and used to produce sprouts is the most likely common link between the two outbreaks.

Other lots of fenugreek imported from Egypt between 2009 and 2011 may yet be implicated. But based on these findings, EFSA has recommended to the European Commission that the seeds from the one identified lot be traced to all countries that may have received them.

Meanwhile, EFSA is advising consumers not to grow sprouts for their own consumption and not to eat sprouts or sprouted seeds unless they have been cooked thoroughly.

Since May 2011, an outbreak of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) has been ongoing in Germany, and on June 24, French authorities reported an E. coli outbreak in the region of Bordeaux. To date, the E. coli O104:H4 outbreak is responsible for 48 deaths in Germany and one in Sweden. The total number of cases reported in the EU, Norway and Switzerland is 4,178.

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