Russia wants EU to issue safety assurance amid E.Coli outbreak
More than a month after the outbreak of deadly E. coli bacteria infection, which has already claimed 37 lives so far, Russia on Wednesday said that it was still waiting for the European Union’s assurance on its vegetable produce.
In a statement, Russia’s chief sanitary inspector Gennady Onishchenko said that despite the EU’s efforts to handle the crisis, the situation in Europe was not very positive. This is the reason why they look for certificates, which can assure them of their produce’s safety if imported to Russia.
In a separate report, Russia’s food safety and sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said that it doesn’t believe that the EU’s vegetables are the primary source of E. Coli infection, but continued the ban on vegetables. Rosselkhoznadzor warned the 27-nation bloc against not identifying the E.Coli’s source, adding that the watchdog still holds the rights to apply additional measures on EU produces.
