Germany expects the death toll from the E.coli outbreak that has killed 27 people in Europe to rise, although new infections from the strain of bacteria are dropping.
German Health Minister Daniel Bahr says there will be new cases and, unfortunately, more deaths, but the number of new infections is falling significantly.
The minister says he cannot sound the all clear, but after analysing the latest data they have reasonable cause for hope.
The German government has been criticised at home and around Europe for failing so far to pin down the cause of the outbreak that has stricken more than 2,700 people in 12 countries.
All cases have been traced back to near Hamburg in northern Germany.
The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's disease control body, reported an additional 318 E.coli-related cases on Wednesday.
About a quarter of E.coli patients in the latest outbreak have developed a severe complication called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) affecting the blood, kidneys and nervous system.
Germany has been criticised for hastily blaming Spanish cucumbers for the outbreak - which it later withdrew - and the lack of conclusive evidence that German sprouts are indeed the source.
The European Union on Wednesday raised compensation to 210 million euros from 150 million euros for farmers hit by plummeting sales.
The economic damage to Europe's farming industry - with organic producers singled out for suspicion because they use manure rather than chemical fertiliser, putting crops more at risk of contamination - could reach half a billion euros, Reuters reports.
