The EU health commissioner has criticised Germany for rushing to make wild claims about the E.coli outbreak without scientific evidence.
John Dalli rebuked Germany for premature and inaccurate conclusions on the source of contaminated food that have spread fear all over Europe and cost farmers in exports.
Mr Dalli told the EU parliament in Strasbourg that such public information must be scientifically sound and foolproof before it becomes public.
Over the past days Germany first pointed a finger at Spanish cucumbers, then at local sprouts, before backtracking on both.
He said: It's crucial that national authorities don't rush to give information on the source of infection when it's not justified by the science.
That creates fears and problems for our food producers. We must be careful not to make premature conclusions.
EU farm ministers are convening in an emergency meeting in Luxembourg later on Tuesday amid demands from farmers that they be paid back for the losses caused by the E. coli outbreak in Europe that has killed 22 and sickened more than 2,330.
The EU health commissioner also said the current E. coli outbreak is limited geographically to northern Germany and does not need Europe-wide controls.
Speaking ahead of emergency talks by European Union agricultural ministers, Mr Dalli said: I stress that the outbreak is limited geographically to the area surrounding the city of Hamburg, so there is no reason to take action on a European level. [EU-wide] measures against any product are disproportionate.
Meanwhile Russia's chief sanitary official told the Interfax news agency Tuesday there was progress toward the easing of his country's ban on imports of fresh vegetables from EU nations.
Gennady Onishchenko said that European officials had promised to pass on samples of the strain of E. coli, which would help Russia gather information for lifting the ban that was imposed on Thursday.
He singled out Denmark's co-operation and said exports from that country could be resumed soon if officials there send more information.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...ealth-chief-over-premature-E.coli-claims.html
John Dalli rebuked Germany for premature and inaccurate conclusions on the source of contaminated food that have spread fear all over Europe and cost farmers in exports.
Mr Dalli told the EU parliament in Strasbourg that such public information must be scientifically sound and foolproof before it becomes public.
Over the past days Germany first pointed a finger at Spanish cucumbers, then at local sprouts, before backtracking on both.
He said: It's crucial that national authorities don't rush to give information on the source of infection when it's not justified by the science.
That creates fears and problems for our food producers. We must be careful not to make premature conclusions.
EU farm ministers are convening in an emergency meeting in Luxembourg later on Tuesday amid demands from farmers that they be paid back for the losses caused by the E. coli outbreak in Europe that has killed 22 and sickened more than 2,330.
The EU health commissioner also said the current E. coli outbreak is limited geographically to northern Germany and does not need Europe-wide controls.
Speaking ahead of emergency talks by European Union agricultural ministers, Mr Dalli said: I stress that the outbreak is limited geographically to the area surrounding the city of Hamburg, so there is no reason to take action on a European level. [EU-wide] measures against any product are disproportionate.
Meanwhile Russia's chief sanitary official told the Interfax news agency Tuesday there was progress toward the easing of his country's ban on imports of fresh vegetables from EU nations.
Gennady Onishchenko said that European officials had promised to pass on samples of the strain of E. coli, which would help Russia gather information for lifting the ban that was imposed on Thursday.
He singled out Denmark's co-operation and said exports from that country could be resumed soon if officials there send more information.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...ealth-chief-over-premature-E.coli-claims.html
