Dioxin scare closes about 1,200 German farms
Diet Simon - 07.01.2011 01:11
About 1,200 chicken, turkey and pig farms have been temporarily banned from production in Germany amid a scare over dioxin in animal feed.
The second-most toxic chemical after radioactive waste has been found in eggs and poultry in a number of German states and contaminated eggs have been exported to Britain and Holland.
A by-product of burning rubbish and industrial activities, dioxin can cause miscarriages and other health problems in humans, including cancer.
The farms affected bought animal feed contaminated with dioxin from feed maker Harles & Jentzsch who received toxic products from the Olivet company in the Netherlands.
The Dutch food safety authority NWA has defended Olivet, saying it clearly marked the fatty acid waste products for ‘technical purposes’.
Harles & Jentzsch is alleged to have supplied up to 3,000 tonnes of contaminated fatty acids to around 25 animal feed makers. The German government has said that up to 150,000 tonnes of feed are feared to have been contaminated.
Last week, heightened levels of dioxin were found in eggs and chicken meat in the northwestern German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Two shipments of eggs suspected of being contaminated were exported to Holland and Britain, the European Union said. While the scare started in two German states, 11 are now affected.
The NWA said the 136,000 eggs (nine tonnes) imported from contaminated German farms no longer posed a risk. Only a very small amount had been processed by food companies before inspectors tracked down the eggs.
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