FSA News Item, 27 May 2011
The Agency is now providing further information in relation to the E. coli outbreak that is taking place in Germany.
The Agency can confirm that the German authorities have identified a source of the outbreak as being organic cucumbers from two provinces in Spain (Almeria and Malaga), with a third suspected source of cucumbers originating in the Netherlands. There is currently no evidence that any affected organic cucumbers from the sources identified have been distributed to the UK.
Further information is available from the European Commission and from the Health Protection Agency.
What you can do
It's a good idea to wash fruit and vegetables before you eat them to ensure that they are clean, and to help remove germs that might be on the outside. Peeling or cooking fruit and vegetables can also remove these germs.
The science behind the story
Haemolytic uraemic syndrome is a serious complication of some types of E. coli infection. This outbreak has been associated with a rare strain of E.coli (O104).