The Agriculture Ministry is investigating claims from a US media outlet that several cases of hepatitis-A infection in the state of Virginia are linked to strawberries imported from Egypt, ministry spokesman Edi Hawash said on Tuesday.In his statement, Hawash said that the US has not officially informed Egypt of the claims, but the claims are being investigated anyway.
Agriculture Minister Essam Fayed has formed a committee, headed by the chairman of the Union of Egyptian Exporters, to investigate the issue, Hawash added.
He said that recent tests conducted on random samples of exported strawberries have shown no cases of the virus.Alaa Abdel Karim, the General Organization for Export and Import Control, affiliated to the Agriculture Ministry, said his organization is not normally resonsible for strawberry exports, but it will work with the ministry anyway through the specially formed committee.
He said the Health Ministry examines batches of strawberries and issues certificates stating that they are free from disease and valid for export.
FoodWorld 