Import ban on seeds from Egypt over E.coli

European Commission officials said certain batches of the seeds were being withdrawn from sale and imports of fenugreek and some other seeds and sprouted seeds from Egypt were being suspended until the end of October, pending further investigations.

Germany, which was first to suffer deaths from E.coli 0104, originally blamed Spanish cucumbers and then beansprouts from a German organic farm. Now it seems the culprit is more likely to have been another ingredient common in salad mixes.

The suspected fenugreek is another organic product, imported into Germany and then sold on to France through an English dealer, Thompson & Morgan of Ipswich. France has been hit by the same virulent bug as Germany.

Thompson & Morgan said last night that none of the seeds had been sold in England. They were obtained to meet a special request from a French customer and would have been sprouted in France, by moistening, in the same way as bean-sprouts and mustard and cress commonly are.

The strong circumstantial evidence against the fenugreek sprouts, created from batches of dry seed up to two years old, raises the question whether the E.coli has been transported within the affected seed or on its surface. Both are possible but the European Commission needs to know which has happened.

Meanwhile, the UK Food Standards Agency is advising that all seed sprouts should be thoroughly cooked. The warnings do not apply to fenugreek seeds ground into spice for cooking or products with fenugreek as an ingredient, because cooking should kill any bugs. Also, herbs and spices imported into Europe are commonly treated with irradiation, unless they are going to be labelled organic.

The FSA said: “Evidence implicating the fenugreek seeds is not definitive and investigations are continuing.”