France bans British sprouts on E.Coli suspicion

French authorities have prohibited the sale of three types of sprouts from the British seed supplier, Thompson and Morgan, reportedly infected with E. Coli, France's secretary of state for consumer affairs, Frederic Lefebvre said in a statement on Saturday. On Thursday evening French authorities were informed about 10 people affected by E. coli in Bordeaux after eating mustard, fenugreek and rocket sprouts, believed to be grown from Thompson and Morgan seeds. Lefebvre urged the consumers who bought these products not to use them. According to AFP, two people hospitalized in Bordeaux are in intensive care. One of the patients, a 78-year old woman is in critical condition, the second patient is recovering. The highly virulent strain of the E. coli bacteria had killed almost 40 people in Europe since its outbreak began early in June. The infection was traced to bean sprouts grown on a farm in Germany's Lower Saxony region, some 70 km (40 miles) south of Hamburg.