Attack of the killer cucumbers..!

The world is struck by E coli scare. Many European nations- Germany, France, Spain, Czech republic, UK... are in a state of high alert following the news of the outbreak that caused the death of more than 30 people. The shocking news to the vegetarians is that, they have to take care of the diet this time, for a change. Previously we had seen such a turmoil on the dinner tables of non- vegetarians when bird flu and  mad cow disease struck the world. 

And primary suspect among the lot is cucumber, which is a pity because it happens to be the most harmless looking vegetable in the whole world- tasteless (not in a bad way), odor less, watery (a summer delight)... there is no need to even cook it. Imagine someone wearing a mask while handling a cucumber. But as I am typing this word is coming out that may be sprouts or lettuce can be the culprit. 

Spanish MEP with cucumber

Spain is the worst hit. Whole Europe blamed Spain for exporting E coli affected vegetables, which resulted in tons of cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes being dumped by farmers. An angry Spanish MEP declared in European parliament that they have to restore the honor of cucumber. Ultimately Spanish cucumbers were tested and declared free of the bacteria though E coli strains were found in cucumber waste in trash bin in Germany. It is not yet established whether vegetable was contaminated  or it came from other vegetables in the bin. Every where in Europe cucumber sales have come to a halt. EU has offered compensation for the farmers who are the worst hit by the scare. Still experts could not specifically identify the real villain behind the outbreak. 

Criticism is mounting against the way Germans, who are the worst hit, are tackling the problem. No leads are made yet in asserting the real cause. Instead an international blame game is being played, where producer countries are defending their products and buyers getting paranoid and avoiding them like plague...