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European Union removes Egypt's E. coli-linked seeds from market. On Tuesday, July 5, the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced that a single shipment of fenugreek seeds
imported from Egypt in 2009 was suspected to be the most likely source of the deadly
E. coli outbreaks in Germany and France, which has claimed 50 lives, with nearly 900 who
have now been diagnosed with severe kidney ailments and more than 4,221 people ill. The
European Union has also moved to ban the import of fenugreek seeds as well as issue a temporary
ban on all seeds from Egypt. However, microbiological tests of the seeds have so far been negative
for the bacteria, which originates from animal sources such as livestock, whose infected
waste matter can contaminate crop irrigation water or manure-based fertilizer.
Earlier on July 2, an elderly woman in the southwestern city of Bordeaux in France became
the first person in the country to die from kidney damage after being treated for E. coli
infection since June 24. This strain of E. coli, although different from the one in Germany,
is showing itself to be similarly lethal. Meanwhile, Sweden has also confirmed the first
domestic case of the deadly E. coli on Tuesday.
In deep sorrow for the precious lives lost and those who suffer in illness, we pray for
Heaven's mercy as we work together toward an enlightened society that seeks to protect
all fellow inhabitants with love and respect�