Spanish officials have hit back at claims that exported cucumbers from the country are to blame for an outbreak of food poisoning that has killed at least 14 people around Europe.
Germany has suffered the worst of the E.coli outbreak, with as many as 1,200 cases reported.
Instances have also been reported in Sweden, Hungary and the Czech Republic – with a handful of cases in Britain, all involving German citizens.
Early reports identified fresh produce from Spain as the source of the outbreak, with some products from the country withdrawn from shelves. But Spanish authorities said the accusations were unfounded and premature.
“The origin of this illness cannot be attributed to Spain,” said Diego López Garrido, Spanish secretary of state for Europe.
“There is no proof of it and we are going to insist on holding accountable those who have attributed this matter to Spain.”
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