"German officials said Saturday that bean sprouts had led to a deadly bacteria outbreak across Europe, but that the farm producing the toxic vegetable was not to blame.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) confirmed test results announced on Friday that identified bean sprouts from an organic farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel as carrying the virulent E. coli strain EHEC-0104, ending a frantic two-week probe.
Although the farm has since closed down, regional farm minister Gert Lindemann said that it 'had, according to his knowledge, done nothing wrong'.
'It has high hygiene standards,' he told the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung daily.
The killer bug claimed at least 33 lives and has left some 3,000 people ill across 14 countries and led to several bans on vegetables grown in Europe, which have cost farmers millions of euros (dollars) in losses."
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) confirmed test results announced on Friday that identified bean sprouts from an organic farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel as carrying the virulent E. coli strain EHEC-0104, ending a frantic two-week probe.
Although the farm has since closed down, regional farm minister Gert Lindemann said that it 'had, according to his knowledge, done nothing wrong'.
'It has high hygiene standards,' he told the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung daily.
The killer bug claimed at least 33 lives and has left some 3,000 people ill across 14 countries and led to several bans on vegetables grown in Europe, which have cost farmers millions of euros (dollars) in losses."
