EC Extends Ban on some Egyptian Seeds

An article in Food Production Daily has reported that the European Commission (EC) has extended the ban on some types of Egyptian seeds until next March. This is a continuation of the ban imposed after the E.coli O104 outbreak in Germany and France earlier in the year. The ban was due to expire 31/10/11 but after an unsatisfactory audit the EC the list of banned items can be seen in the article linked above. This bound to cause more concern and lost profit for those companies engaged in the import and use of these products from Egypt. The EC felt that the measures put in place after the audit in August do not lend ‘sufficient guarantees’ to produce the seeds according to the relevant regulations.