Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The Deputy is correct. The implications for Spain were that tens of thousands of seasonal workers lost their jobs and the industry has been decimated this summer. All that happened on the basis of a false accusation that the source of this problem was cucumbers from Spain.

The food safety implications of the crisis were also discussed at yesterday's meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg, which I also attended. We heard a further report from Commissioner Dalli that there was a decreasing trend in new infections and that all batches of product from the German farm at the centre of the outbreak had now been traced. The European Food Safety Authority, EFSA, together with the French authorities are in the process of investigating the outbreak in France and a special task force has been established. To date, investigations are focusing on seed grown outside the EU and imported during 2010. Commissioner Dalli emphasised that there was no danger from the consumption of salad vegetables such as cucumbers, lettuce, courgettes and tomatoes. Consumers need to know that.

The Commission acknowledged that there were lessons to be drawn from the outbreak in terms of co-ordination and the need for clear communication to the public. As is standard practice, the Commission will engage in a full review of early warning and response procedures over the coming months. It will also consider whether there is a need to strengthen EU hygiene rules on the production of seed for food for human consumption.

The Commission also announced that the difficulties for EU exports of fruit and vegetables to Russia had been resolved following detailed discussions with the Russian authorities. A number of countries in the European Union are heavily reliant on the Russian market and its closure was causing huge commercial problems across the EU.

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