European governments traded accusations of blame on Tuesday as they scrambled to find the source of an E. coli outbreak that has killed 16 people and made more than 1,000 ill in Germany, Sweden and other countries. The killer bacteria was first linked to contaminated Spanish cucumbers imported into Germany, but German officials admitted on Tuesday that latest tests showed the cucumbers did not carry the dangerous bacteria strain connected to the outbreak.
"Germany recognises that the Spanish cucumbers are not the cause," German state secretary for agriculture Robert Kloos said on the sidelines of an EU farm ministers meeting in Hungary. The outbreak, one of the largest E.coli outbreaks of its kind, has caused diplomatic tensions between Germany, Spain, France and Russia, with Moscow banning some vegetable imports and threatening TO extend the ban to the whole European Union. Spanish agriculture minister Rosa Aguilar criticised Germany's original response.
"Germany accused Spain of being responsible for the E.coli contamination in Germany, and it did it with no proof, causing irreparable damage to the Spanish production sector," she said. Spanish media reported Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Hungary, Sweden, Belgium and Russia are blocking entry of Spanish cucumbers.