Ukraine has temporarily banned imports of some vegetables from the EU without providing an official document on studies conducted to detect bacteria of the E. coli group, the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine has reported.

The list of banned vegetables includes potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, beets, cucumbers, beans and other products.

Such a decision was taken by the Ukrainian Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry and the Chief State Inspectorate for Plant Quarantine in order to prevent imports of dangerous vegetables to Ukraine.

Over 50 people have already died in Europe from an intestinal infection caused by the E. coli bacterium. The number of those infected with E. coli has exceeded 4,000 people.

The dangerous intestinal infection was initially recorded in the north of Germany. Experts believed that cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce imported from Spain could have been the source of the infection. The sanitary and epidemiological surveillance office in Germany said that the source of infection was detected in sprouts grown from legumes.

Cases of the E. coli infection were reported in 12 countries.

UKRINFORM