E coli deaths prompt Spanish soil quality investigation

The Spanish authorities have called for a swift investigation into the causes of an E coli outbreak, which has resulted in several deaths and caused many European supermarkets to take Spanish cucumbers off their shelves.

Some 14 people have been killed by the disease in Germany and many hundreds more across the continent have fallen ill with the condition.

It is believed that the outbreak started in a Spanish greenhouse and authorities are frantically testing soil quality and water supplies in order to find the origin of the E coli infections.

Spanish officials have denied that the country's cucumber exports are to blame, with the country's health minister Leire Pajin noting that no Spanish cases have been reported yet.

She said: "[Germany's accusations] create alarm and affect the producers of a country without any evidence."

Recently, the European Commission published a report raising concerns at the rate at which soil quality across the continent is declining.

Posted by Joseph Hutton