Germany admitted this week that the E. coli outbreak was not caused by cucumbers from Almeria and Malaga
03.06.11 - 12:58 -
The regional head of Agriculture, Clara Aguilera, eats a cucumber in an organic greenhouse in Almeria. EFE
After five days under suspicion, the German authorities confirmed on Tuesday that the Spanish cucumbers examined did not contain the deadly strain of the E. coli bacteria which has claimed 16 lives. Nevertheless five days were enough to generate million euro losses for Spain’s growers as several European countries, and even Russia, banned imports of Spanish vegetables.
It was on Thursday last week when Hamburg health official, Cornelia Prüfer Storcks, dropped the bombshell on Andalusian growers. She announced that three Spanish cucumbers, from Almeria and Malaga, had been found to contain the E. coli bacteria. By the time it was revealed on Tuesday that the cucumbers did not contain the deadly strain, the snowball effect had already set in and done its damage. Andalusian growers saw their activity grind to a halt as countries cancelled orders and rejected lorry loads of Spanish fruit and vegetables at borders.
At first it was only cucumbers that were rejected but the blockade soon spread to tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines and even to Antequera potatoes and Guadalhorce lemons. On Wednesday the Malaga growers’ association Asaja initially estimated ‘cucumber crisis’ losses at six million euros in the province, not counting the ‘collateral’ damage suffered by potato producers.
Unquantifiable damage
“We are assessing the magnitude of the damage. The losses are enormous, because the brutal alarm generated by Germany has affected so many products that we don’t know how we are going to repair the damage”, said Asaja president Carlos Blázquez. “What’s more there are other costs that we are unable to quantify; the damage caused to the image of Malaga and Andalusian produce has been huge. It takes years of hard work to win the confidence of international markets and we were very well placed. Now in five days that has all gone down the drain”, he added.
The Algarrobo-based firm Frunet, whose cucumber was one of the original three found to be contaminated, albeit by the wrong strain of the bacteria, plan to hold a press conference today (Friday) in Germany to help repair their image. The EU lifted its warning over Spanish cucumbers on Wednesday.
The exoneration was met with a mixture of relief and indignation on the part of the Spanish authorities. The Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar warned that the country will seek compensation for the estimated 200 million euros a week lost by the country’s growers. “They have accused us unfairly, wrongly and without evidence”, she said on Tuesday.
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, José Antonio Griñán, said that the regional authority would help businesses with the necessary paperwork and guidance to claim damages.
In an attempt to repair the ‘intangible’ damage the Government and the Junta are already planning national and international public awareness campaign to extol the quality of agricultural production in_Andalucía, which boasts full guarantees because they “investigate, analyse, control and commercialise with traceability”, explained Griñán.
Origin still unknown
Meanwhile the German authorities are back to square one, now that tests reveal that the cucumbers didn’t contain the deadly strain of the bacteria after all.
Germany is still advising consumers to avoid raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce and restaurants are removing salads from their menus.
So far more than a thousand people in Germany have been affected by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, also known as EHEC. In many cases, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Haemolytic-uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal.
Sixteen people have died in Germany and there has been one fatal case in Sweden, although the latter patient had travelled to Germany. Patients infected by the bacteria in other European countries, including one in Spain, had all spent time recently in Germany.
Campaigns
‘¿Yo? ¡Producto Andaluz!’, a Benalmádena-based lobby group which promotes Andalusian produce, is holding a rally in Arroyo de la Miel today (Friday 3rd June) where a tonne of cucumbers will be distributed to the public in a free tasting event.
The aim, according to a statement, is to highlight that the vegetables produced in southern Spain are safe, following the major health scare in Germany.
On Monday, a ‘¿Yo? ¡Producto Andaluz!’ spokesperson said that Germany had launched a “completely unjustified war” against the Andalusian cucumber with no “valid basis.”
Today’s event, taking place on Calle Blas Infante from midday, is, according to the campaign organisation, a direct response to the “German offensive” and to demonstrate in a public way the high quality of Spanish cucumbers.
Expogays
There will be a similar scene in Torremolinos today when the Expogays organisers will be distributing seven tonnes of cucumbers at the local congress and exhibition centre from 11 a.m. The group, who will be participating in the Euroal tourism fair at the centre this weekend, will be helping restore faith in the local cucumber in an event they have called the ‘pepinazo’.
Reaction
The head of the infectious diseases unit at Malaga’s Carlos Haya hospital, Juan de Dios Colmenero, said that Germany’s announcement that Spanish cucumbers were the origin of the outbreak was precipitated, as the suspicions had not been confirmed. “There was little scientific rigour in the information provided about the source of the infection. Social alarm was generated without justification”, said the expert, who is currently chairing the 15th Congress of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases being held in Malaga.
