Germany: No proof sprouts caused E. coli outbreak

BERLIN (AP) — In a surprising U-turn, German officials said initial tests published Monday provided no evidence that sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany were the cause of the country's deadly E. coli outbreak.

The Lower-Saxony state agriculture ministry said 23 of 40 samples from the sprout farm suspected of being behind the outbreak have tested negative for the highly aggressive, "super-toxic" strain of E. coli bacteria. It said tests were still under way on the other 17 sprout samples.

AP Photo/dapd, Axel Heimken

A greenhouse at a vegetable farm is seen in the Uelzen district, n...