German Health Minister Daniel Bahr said 26 people have now died since the start of May — 25 in Germany and one in Sweden.

Germany’s national disease control center, the Robert Koch Institute, reported 300 more E. coli cases Wednesday, raising the total to 2,648. Almost 700 of these people are hospitalized with a serious complication that can cause kidney failure. Another 100 E. coli cases are in other European countries and the United States.

German consumers are avoiding fruit and vegetables - supermarkets have reported losses between 30 per cent and 40 per cent in fresh produce.

In China, authorities have ordered stricter health inspections for travellers arriving from Germany to prevent the super-toxic strain from getting into the country.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Investigation and Quarantine said that authorities should strengthen temperature and medical checks of travellers from Germany.

The agency added that those experiencing nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea or fever should declare themselves to authorities or if already in China, seek medical attention immediately.

Russia banned the import of fresh vegetables from EU.