COPENHAGEN, June 10 (Xinhua)-- Denmark's food safety authority on Friday lifted its warning against German cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce, after evidence suggested German bean sprouts are the source of the deadly E. coli outbreak.
According to Germany's Robert Koch Institute, bean sprouts supplied by a farm in northern Germany are the likely source of E. coli contamination.
Denmark's Veterinary and Food Authority said that bean sprouts from the suspected farm have not been supplied to Denmark.
German authorities initially blamed Spanish and Danish cucumbers as the source of contamination, but laboratory tests cleared them of suspicion.
So far, the E. coli infection has claimed 29 lives and affected over 2,800 individuals in Germany, health authorities there said. There is a decreasing trend in the overall number of cases, they added.
Denmark's National Serum Institute reports 20 confirmed cases here, nearly all of whom are believed to have contracted the infection in northern Germany, where the outbreak started. There have been no new cases reported since Tuesday.
The infection, which is food-borne, can be caused by eating raw or uncooked vegetables contaminated with the E. coli bacteria. Symptoms include mild fever, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
Children are normally most vulnerable to E. coli infection but most of those infected in this outbreak are above the age of 20 years.
