The Israeli Health Ministry’s National Food Service has requested a halt to shipments of some fresh fruits and vegetables from Jordan after positive test results cholera bacteria in runoff from the Yarmuk River, the largest tributary of the Jordan River.
This move is being made out of an abundance of caution, with the ministry emphasizing that there is no indication that cucumbers, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes on supermarket shelves are contaminated, and that they will therefore not be recalled.
The ministry added that the halt to imports was done to allow for time to verify that additional produce from Jordan was not affected and to verify that the crops are not watered with the contaminated water.
There is no concern that the cholera comes from Israel due to routine actions by the ministry including testing the water regularly.
Jordan’s Agriculture Minister Khaled Hneifat dismissed the Israeli concerns, according to Roya News.
“We suspended the export of tomatoes to Occupation [Israel] last Monday, and the claims about bacteria are baseless,” Hneifat said.
He assured that “there are no types of bacteria in Jordanian agricultural products, and the ministry continuously conducts tests to protect Jordanian consumers.”
