Russia has banned the import of all fresh vegetables from all European Union member states because of an outbreak of the E.coli bacteria, the country's sanitary watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Thursday.

According to the sanitary chief Gennady Onishchenko, the ban was imposed starting from Thursday due to the sharp rise of E. coli infection cases in a number of EU countries, primarily Germany.

"We are imposing the ban due to the fact that during a month's time the situation has not been brought under control," he was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

Rospotrebnadzor has already sent relevant instructions to the Russian Customs Service.

Russia had previously banned vegetable imports from Germany and Spain only.

Over 1,000 people, mainly in Germany, have been infected by the E. coli bacteria. The European Commission has reported 10 deaths in nine countries.

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