Just as it appeared as though authorities solved the mystery behind Europe’s deadly outbreak of E. coli, fresh test results raised doubts about the latest theory.
German agriculture officials announced today that the first 23 produce samples evaluated at a suspect sprout farm did not show E. coli contamination. As The New York Times reports, the results deepen the confusion over the source of an outbreak involving a rare E. coli strain that has killed at least 22 people and left more than 600 in intensive care.
The disclosure came a day after officials called tainted sprouts from a farm in northern Germany’s Uelzen area as the “most convincing” cause, and shut down the farm while researchers began testing 18 sprout mixtures, which include beans, broccoli, peas and other vegetables. Another 17 tests still are being carried out on the sprouts, with the next round of results due within a day.
As the Associated Press pointed out, the latest news left consumers across Europe puzzled about what is safe to eat. The current crisis, although it originated in northern Germany and still is concentrated in that nation, has spread across numerous countries on the continent and has sickened more than 2,300 people.
When German authorities pointed to sprouts as the likely culprit Sunday, some U.S. experts said it should have been among the first foods suspected.
“If you hear about one person eating sprouts you’re supposed to ring the alarm bell,” said William E. Keene, a senior epidemiologist of the Oregon Public Health Division, who has investigated many sprout-related outbreaks. “A single case in a salmonella or E. coli O157 outbreak is a red flag,” he told the Times, referring to a most common E. coli bacteria.
Sprouts have been linked to at least 30 illness outbreaks over the past 15 years, according to a U.S. food safety website that warns children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems against eating raw sprouts.
Bacteria can flourish in the warm, humid conditions in which sprouts are grown, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “If you’re concerned about your risk of food-borne illness, don’t eat sprouts,” Keene said. “They’re essentially a dangerous kind of food.”
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