Super bacteria from Almeria

Fears over a super bacterium originating from the northern German city of Hamburg are spreading across the Europe. 10 people infected with an E. coli strain have died and more than 400 have fallen ill. A combined 15 people in Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden were also infected with the superbug and found to have visited northern Germany. The European Commission said organically cultivated cucumbers imported Friday from Almeria in Andalusia, Spain, are the source of the E. coli outbreak. The German Health Ministry said three of the four raw cucumbers where the superbug was detected came from Spain.

Food products that Europeans eat are imported mostly from Spain. Aerial pictures of Almeria, which is located in the easternmost part of Andalusia, show the city covered in vinyl greenhouses. Dubbed “a sea of vinyl,” the city has the world`s highest density of vinyl greenhouses. Spain’s entry into the European Union in 1986 led to the liberalization of the country’s trade, and greenhouse farmers who raise vegetables and fruit in winter saw the most benefits. Seventy percent of farm products in Almeria are exported to Europe.

In the past, Almeria was the poorest region among 50 Spanish states. Granada, another city in Andalusia, has heavy precipitation but Almeria, which is situated between the Sierra Nevada and the sea, is dry and hot, making the place virtually uninhabitable. While Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla are tourist destinations due to their Islamic heritage, Almeria sees few foreign tourists. To survive, the city began greenhouse farming from the 1970s.

Water is critical to the success of greenhouse farming. It is hard to supply water to Almeria’s greenhouses, which cover 320 square kilometers. The greenhouses have used underground bedrock water but the amount of salt in the water is increasing due to excessive use. Without water to rinse vegetables, farmers in Almeria often use domestic waste water. In 2005, people in Northern Europe fell ill due to vegetables washed by sewage. Organically cultivated cucumbers were found to be the cause of the latest E. coli outbreak. Organic food from greenhouses are mostly grown under hydroponic conditions so greenhouse farmers are likely to have used contaminated water.

Editorial Writer Song Pyeong-in (pisong@donga.com)