By Martin Banks - 15th June 2011
It's not normal that Europeans go out for a salad and die
Linda McAvan
MEPs have called for compensation for people affected by the E. coli outbreak.
Speaking during a debate on the issue on Tuesday, members also said they "deplored" the harm done to the EU fruit and vegetable industry by the recent health scare.
They branded claims - since discounted - that Spanish cucumbers and soya beans may have been the possible source of the outbreak as "unjust".
Spanish farmers lost millions of euros worth of business when Germany initially blamed cucumbers in Spain for a fatal E. coli outbreak.
Deputies also demanded better coordination in the event of any future outbreak and improved enforcement of rules on food labelling and traceability.
Waving a cucumber as he spoke, non-attached Spanish MEP Francisco Sosa Wagner called for compensation for those affected by the crisis, including farmers.
The debate in the committee on environment, public health and food safety comes amid continued uncertainty about the cause of the recent virulent outbreak in Germany,
Addressing MEPs, EU health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli called on member states to "avoid premature conclusions not based on scientific evidence".
He said that any ban on European products is "disproportionate" as the source so far is limited to an area around Hamburg.
EU farm ministers met later on Tuesday in Luxembourg to discuss the impact on agriculture and the hardship faced by farmers.
Speaking during the committee debate, Socialist MEP Linda McAvan was one of a number of MEPs who raised questions about EU farming practices, the use of antibiotics, traceability and food labelling.
She said, "It's not normal that Europeans go out for a salad and die."
German Christian Democrat Peter Liese also raised concerns about antibiotic resistance in farming, saying that the strain of E. coli linked to the German outbreak is resistant to antibiotics.
French Liberal Corinne Lepage called for better enforcement of labelling and traceability rules, while German GUE/NGL member Sabine Wils said the current food transport chain "makes it impossible" to trace where and how food is produced.
Wils said, "The precautionary principle must prevail. Human lives should come before economic questions."
Meanwhile, British Conservative deputy James Nicholson said the focus should be on developing a long-term system to prevent a similar occurrence, rather than on how things should have been done.
