This document is an update of the EFSA/ECDC joint rapid risk assessment of 29 June and aims to add new information to this and earlier initial rapid risk assessments (27 May and 14 June 2011).

An update of the initial rapid risk assessment on the outbreak of E. Coli in Germany, prepared at the request of the European Commission, first published on 27 May 2011.

At the request of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Consumers, a rapid risk assessment has been prepared concerning the outbreak of E Coli in Germany.

​Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is a group of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains capable of producing Shiga toxins, with the potential to cause severe enteric and systemic disease in humans.