BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Department of the Interior Thursday moved to ban, effective immediately, several Egyptian agricultural products to protect consumers from the possibility of E. Coli (EHEC) contamination. The ban is effective until 31 October and covers a number of types of sprouts, beans and seeds sold to consumers as well as sprouts and seeds for planting and for animals foods.
The move follows the 6 July announcement by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that the German and French E. Coli outbreaks had been traced imported Egyptian fenugreek seeds. Switzerland issued an alert against consuming fenagreek, as a precaution, 6 July, but EFSA informed the Swiss after that grains were found in animal foods that Switzerland imports.
Fenugreek is an ages-old remedy to increase the flow of breast milk when nursing.
Bern says that epidemiological tests have now shown the E. Coli appeared due to handling problems during production, but the precise source of the problem is still being sought by European health authorities. A tiny amount of a product carrying the bacteria can cause severe health problems.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - French tennis player Richard Gasquet was exonerated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport Thursday 17 December from any fault or negligence over cocaine in his system, which he says was from kissing in a nightclub. The CAS agreed his assertion is the most likely explanation for the minute amount of the drug found in his system 28 March during the ATP tournament in Miami, Florida, USA.
The amount was so small that it did not reflect social use of the drug, but rather incidental contamination, the court says. “It was also established that the player was clearly not a regular cocaine user, even in very small amounts.”
