CAIRO: The Egyptian government continued its fight with the European Union over a temporary ban on the importation of seeds and crops from the North African country over an E. coli outbreak in Germany and France blamed on Egyptian seeds. The ministry of agriculture said on Thursday that it was not pleased with the move, saying that it was not responsible for the bacteria's outbreak in Europe. The unilateral measure ignored Egyptian and European tests which proved that the Egyptian fenugreek seeds were safe and free from E. coli bacteria, the statement said, according to state news agency MENA. The ministry told the European mission in Egypt that it was surprised of the measure adopted by the EU, which does not go in line with the Egyptian-European partnership agreement and affects the Egyptian exports. According to MENA, the ministry has received on Monday a letter from the European Commission approving the safety of the Egyptian fenugreek. The E. coli outbreak has killed over 50 people in Europe since it was first reported in late May. Russia's food safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has also banned the import of certain types of produce from Egypt over food safety concerns, a Russian official said on Wednesday. Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture had refuted the claims of E. coli source last Friday. BM
