At present there are no contaminated Spanish vegetables in Hungary, all tests so far have proved negative - announced Endre Kardeván, Under Secretary of the Ministry for Rural Development responsible for Food Chain Supervision and Agricultural Administration, on Tuesday in Debrecen.

At the moment there are 154 samples under investigation in our laboratories, half of which have already been tested, and the results are negative - he added at the unscheduled press conference following the Informal Meeting of the Agricultural Ministers of the European Union.

According to Endre Kardeván it is very important that consumers regain their trust and are informed that cucumbers grown in Hungary are safe for consumption.

In relation to the E. coli infection that for now is primarily affecting Germany, he stated that it was important to find out exactly where the bacteria originated from, because this information is still not known. According to the Under Secretary, very few of the potentially contaminated cucumbers were imported into Hungary from Spain, consignments totalling only 1-2 tons reached the capital and Békés county.

Tests on samples from both shipments were negative, but the vegetables were destroyed - he also added. In reassurance, Endre Kardeván stated that the origin of all vegetables can be traced, meaning that if a cucumber is labelled as being Hungarian it was definitely grown in Hungary. If the origin of a product cannot be verified, it is destroyed immediately, he noted.

Supervision at a European level is working efficiently, be we don't claim that it's perfect, things can always be improved - the Under Secretary replied to a question from the press.

Also in reply to a question, he stated that the situation was reviewed in detail during the informal meeting of Agricultural Ministers in Debrecen, no anti-German mood had developed, the opinion of the members of the Council was that "Germany had handled the matter well and had proceeded as required". According to Endre Kardeván no Spanish vegetables are entering Hungary at present.

45-50 thousand tons of cucumbers are produced in Hungary each year, only 10 thousand tons are imported, the majority of which enter the country in winter - it was revealed at the unscheduled press conference.

(MTI)