The Israel Citrus Marketing Board reported today that it has received reports from Europe indicating a resumption of the sale of Israeli oranges following last week’s slump after poisoned oranges were discovered in Holland and West Germany. Five children in Holland and an off-duty policeman in West Germany suffered from food poisoning after eating the oranges which had been injected with non-lethal doses of mercury. A larger dose would have been fatal.
The Marketing Board said it expects the sale of oranges in Europe to return to its normal level within the next few weeks. However, the Board is concerned about the transport of citrus fruits in view of the continuing strike of Israeli seamen, now in its fourth week. There are some 800,000 crates on ships in Italy and England which cannot be unloaded and the fruit may be damaged. The seamen’s strike has so far cost the Israeli economy about IL 100 million.
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