Following reports of illness the public are advised not to eat cucumbers.
Following a number of cases of people falling ill after having eaten cucumbers, the Department of Health has advised the public not to eat the vegetable until further notice.
Last Friday the Department of Health revealed that thirty people had become ill after eating cucumbers, and the public was advised again today to avoid them. Tests are ongoing to determine the source of the illness and it is not yet clear if the contaminated vegetables were imported or Irish-grown.
Officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health met this afternoon, but were unable to say if chemicals, pesticides or genetic mutations are to blame.
The government has been criticised for a delay of over seven days to alert the public. Once investigations commenced, a health warning was issued as early as possible according to Minister for State Liam Hyland.
In the meantime, Irish cucumber growers have called for compensation for their losses. Tom Collins is one grower who is being forced to dump his product every week,
We expect to dump 2000 boxes of cucumbers, that's 24,000 individual cucumbers.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 2 June 1992. The reporter is Joe O'Brien.
