The European Commission protested to the Russian Federation against the Russian ban imposed earlier on all EU vegetable exports to Russia, and requested the immediate withdrawal of the measure.

John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, sent a letter to the Russian Authorities in which specifically expressed concerns about the decision mentioned above. He stressed that the latest test results on cucumber samples carried out by the competent authorities in Spain and Germany, showed that the cucumbers are not responsible for the Shiga toxin-producing E. Coli (STEC) outbreak in Germany. The Commission also stressed that it has removed its own alert notification on Spanish cucumbers from the Rapid Alert System on Food and Feed (RASFF).

The German competent authorities officially informed the European Commission on 31 of May that they have concluded all tests on the samples they collected. Despite the fact that some of the sampled cucumbers did test positive to STEC, the tests did not confirm the presence of the specific serotype (O104), which is responsible for the outbreak affecting humans.

The Commissioner also stressed on 1 June in a press released that the outbreak is limited geographically to an area surrounding the city of Hamburg. In Germany, 1,169 cases have been recorded. Out of these, 373 developed the more serious form of the disease, the so-called HUS. Sporadic cases are reported in seven other Member States. Switzerland has also reported two cases and the United States three. Nevertheless, according to the latest information available from Germany, it appears that the outbreak is on decline – fewer people have been hospitalised over the past couple of days than before. Therefore, the Commission considers any ban on any product as disproportionate.

In all the cases, the Commission strongly recommends to wash fruit and vegetables. The same applies for hands before preparing food or eating, and after using the bathroom or changing diapers. Washing thoroughly knives, plates and other utensils limits the risk of cross-contamination.