The blogsphere is circulating allegations that basil grown in Israel was deliberately contaminated with Salmonella senfenberg in Britain, which sickened dozens across Europe earlier this year.

Yesterday, Eurosurveillance published the results of the epidemiological investigation into dozens of confirmed cases of Salmonella Senftenberg in England, Wales and elsewhere, which led to seven samples of pre-packed fresh basil, grown in Israel, testing positive for Salmonella Senftenberg.

Fresh basil has been implicated in several notable outbreaks of foodborne illness over the years, including a couple involving the parasite cyclospora.

A list of North American produce outbreaks from 1993-2006 can be found here.