Deadly bacteria - German weakness

“First cucumbers, then soja, tomorrow it will probably be strawberries,” headlinesDe Volkskrant, which explains that even in Germany, “everyone is equally baffled” about the orgin of the deadly E. coli bacterium. On 6 June, the director of the Robert Koch Institute — the central organisation charged with issuing food safety alerts — even said that it was highly unlikely that the source would ever be found. For the Dutch newspaper "the EHEC crisis has highlighted the downside of German federalism,” because “every Länder or state has bandied about its own theory in an apparently uncoordinated manner” while “each health authority appears to be following its own procedures.” The daily goes on to point out that “when the source of the EHEC is found, the Germans will have their work cut out. The fragmented health regulation system will inevitably have to be centralised. Confusion has resulted in the loss of human lives, several million euros of damage, and unnecessary impairment of Germany’s image as a modern country.”