British seed firm ‘linked to French E. coli outbreak’
France: Officials are investigating a possible link between
seeds sold by a UK firm and an E. coli outbreak in France.
News agency AFP said 10 people have been affected by E. coli in
Bordeaux.
|
Sales of mustard, rocket and fenugreek seeds from Thompson
and Morgan have been halted in France |
It is thought a number of them had eaten rocket and mustard vegetable
sprouts, believed to have been grown from seeds sold by Thompson and
Morgan.
The Ipswich-based company told the BBC it had no evidence of a link.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said no E. coli cases had been reported
in the UK. However, it has revised its guidance and is advising people
not to eat raw sprouted seeds, including alfalfa, mung beans (or
beansprouts) and fenugreek. The agency said these should only be eaten
if cooked until steaming hot throughout. A spokeswoman for Thompson and
Morgan said the company sold “hundreds of thousands of packets of these
seeds” throughout France, the UK and other parts of Europe every year.
“We are very confident the problem is not with our seeds. People can
still grow these seeds and use these seeds with absolute confidence,”
she said.
Continue reading the main story
Food Standards Agency advice
Do not eat sprouted seeds such as alfalfa, mung beans (or beansprouts)
and fenugreek raw
Cook sprouted seeds until steaming hot throughout
Clean equipment which has been used for sprouting seeds
Wash hands after handling seeds intended for planting or sprouting
“For such a small number of people to have been affected, it does
suggest that the problem is perhaps in the local area, how the seeds
have been handled or how they have been grown, rather than the actual
seeds themselves.” The company was co-operating fully with
investigations, she added.
Paul Hansord, the company’s managing director, said: “We make sure
that everything we do is to a high standard.”
He said the firm bought its seeds in bulk from suppliers around the
world. The affected seeds may have been sourced from Italy.
Thompson and Morgan also said they did not raise any seeds, instead
selling packets via mail order to gardeners.
Seven of those affected by the E. coli outbreak, who ate the sprouts
at a country fair at Begres near Bordeaux, needed hospital treatment.
Sunday, BBC
|
