However, the institute appears no closer to identifying a source than it was a week ago.
The vehicle of the outbreak, previously believed to be imported cucumbers, has not been identified, but vegetables remain a suspected source after a preliminary epidemiologic study, completed May 25, found infected people had eaten more of these foods than had noninfected people. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, in its own update June 3, maintained that "contaminated food" was the likeliest source of infection.
While RKI continues to advise Germans not to eat raw tomatoes, cucumbers, or lettuce, especially in the northern states, all of the above remained on sale in German supermarkets June 3, albeit in many cases steeply discounted.
Despite the outbreak of STEC infections in Germany , David Elder, director of regional operations for the Food and Drug Administration, emphasized that produce in the United States “remains safe, and there is no reason for Americans to alter where they shop, what they buy, and where they eat. The U.S. food supply is not in jeopardy.”
As a safety precaution, however, Mr. Elder said that the FDA established import controls within 24 hours of the health advisory issuing in Germany. “The FDA has increased its surveillance of cucumbers, fresh tomatoes, and lettuce from Spain and from Germany,” Mr. Elder said. “When any of these products are presented for import into the United States, the FDA will sample and analyze them in our laboratories.”
Mr. Elder said that an estimated 15% of the food supply in the United States is imported, including about 50% of fresh fruits, 20% of fresh vegetables, and up to 80% of seafoods.
U.S. military bases in Germany have elected to eliminate fresh produce items altogether in their grocery stores and restaurants until the source of the outbreak is identified.
Doug Brunk, San Diego bureau, contributed to this story.