ISSUE NO. 1352
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
2 - 8 JUNE 2011
Farmers lose millions in ‘killer cucumber’ scare FED UP WITH PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE?
FARMERS in Almeria Province are reporting millions of euros in losses after the E.coli outbreak in Hamburg (Germany) decimated fruit and vegetable exports.
German authorities initially pointed to organic cucumbers imported from Almeria and Malaga. Shortly after Spain was ‘cleared’ on Tuesday, the Junta de Andalucia’s
President Antonio Griñan demanded that the European Union compensate Spanish farmers for the economic impact caused since the outbreak began. TLIMAGES
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Small, blue jellyfish (Velella) washed up on the beach.
A blue phenomenon By Tony Unwin HUNDREDS of small, blue jellyfish washed up on the beach from Vera Playa to Puerto Rey on Monday. They are Velella and live on the surface of the open ocean, worldwide, and are commonly known by the names by-the-wind
sailor, purple sail, little sail, or simply Velella and a cousin of the Portuguese Man o’ War. Although not dangerous, if touched, the advice is that people should wash their hands and avoid touching their eyes and face.
“They don’t want anything,” one Almeria farmer said referring to EU buyers. “They don’t want aubergines, courgettes, peppers, melons or watermelons.” In the five days that followed the outbreak, widespread media reports of ‘killer Spanish cucumbers’ saw orders throughout the province, and elsewhere in Andalucia cancelled. On Monday, Almeria exporters reported cucumber sales were down 100 per cent and lorryloads were being sent back. Countries which removed Spanish-grown cucumbers from sale included Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, France, Austria, Belgium, and Holland, among others The same day, Spanish Health and Agriculture officials, including Junta de Andalucia Councillor Clara Aguilera, who ate a cucumber in Almeria to show her support, criticised the German authorities for creating mass hysteria. Even after Hamburg’s Health Minister Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks reported on Tuesday that analysis of the cucumbers in question revealed they were not the cause of the outbreak, news continued to appear on the internet to suggest the contrary. On Tuesday, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment advised against eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce.
NEWS EXTRA
€67,000 road grant LOS GALLARDOS Town Hall has received a grant of €67,000 from the Junta de Andalucia to pay towards the repair of the three kilometres of rural roads in the Las Corralizas and Las Pastoras areas.
Dog show A FUN Dog Show will be held to raise funds for The Dog House Foundation at the Paladares Pool Bar Tennis Court in Arboleas on Sunday from 10am. Entrance is €1, and €2 for entering a dog in the show.
No felines MANAGEMENT at El Acebuche Prison in Almeria have installed metal wiring in several areas to prevent cats from entering. Around 100 cats have colonised the area surrounding the prison.
Real woman A 20-YEAR-OLD student teacher from Almeria has been chosen as one of the women to take part in an new advertising campaign for Unilever’s Dove anticellulite products. The company wanted ‘real women’ for the campaign.