The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC) is demanding "full and immediate" compensation for UK businesses affected by the impact of the E.coli outbreak in Germany.
The disease, which has killed 35 people and infected 3256 in total, is now confirmed to be linked to the consumption of raw sprouted seeds produced locally in Germany.
“The UK fresh produce industry suffered significant losses and a drop in consumption of salad products due to unfounded and premature claims made by the German authorities of a link to fresh fruit and vegetables,” said Nigel Jenney, CEO of the FPC.
“Exhaustive tests have proved that there is no link between this strain of E.coli and fresh produce. We are demanding that both the German authorities and the European Commission provide full and immediate compensation to UK businesses which are suffering from their incompetence in handling this serious outbreak. DEFRA must do more to fight the cause for the UK industry and rebuild consumer confidence.”
Jenney told freshinfo following a meeting on markets in the House of Commons today: "DEFRA have not negotiated aggressively enough at European Commission level. The UK industry is in turmoil through no fault of its own and needs more support."
“The European Commission is talking about implementing a promotional campaign to support the fresh produce industry and restore public confidence. Now the commission expects the industry to pay up to half the costs of a campaign which won’t get off the ground until autumn. Expecting the industry to cover the cost of the German authorities’ incompetence just adds salt to the wound. This campaign will be far too little, and too late.”
Food poisoning outbreaks linked with the contamination of fresh produce remain extremely rare in the UK and just one per cent of food poisoning cases a year are linked to fresh produce.
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