Russia Lifts Ban on Vegetable Imports from Bulgaria

Russia has lifted the ban on vegetable imports from Bulgaria, which was imposed over the deadly E. coli outbreak, the consumer safety service announced.

All shipments, entering the country, will be let in if they are proven safe by a Bulgarian laboratory, Rospotrebnadzor agency said on its website.

Russia prohibited all fresh-vegetable imports from the 27- nation European Union on June 2 after the outbreak in May. It previously canceled the ban on vegetables from Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary.

A day earlier the European Commission's Common Market Organization for agricultural products approved over EUR 2.5 M in compensations to Bulgarian vegetable growers over the E.coli outbreak and crisis.

The amount approved for Bulgaria corresponds to the one requested by the country, based on the applications submitted by vegetable growers by July 11, 2011.

This will allow Bulgaria to pay full compensations to those affected by the crisis.

Over 160 Bulgarian producers are eligible for compensation.

EU's e. coli compensation package aims at helping vegetable growers who have suffered major financial losses due to the dangerous outbreak that killed over 50 and sickened more than 4 000 in Europe and the US.

The European Union banned the import of Egyptian fenugreek and removed all imported quantities from its market due to the outbreak, since it is deemed highly probable to have originated from the product.