Dioxin tainted pork & beef "is safe"

Irish farmers maybe facing a tough Christmas this year after it was revealed that some cattle have been tested positive for traces of dioxin. Consumers had already been told to dispose of any pork products from Ireland after they were found to contain high levels of dioxin. And the latest revelation will do little to boost public confidence.

Dioxin is often produced by combustion such as in forest fires and industrial processes. Although people are exposed to dioxins daily, from cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes and bonfires, high levels can be dangerous. There is evidence that dioxins can cause cancer along with other effects on the immune system. In European regulation, dioxins, along with other potentially harmful chemicals called Furans and dioxin-like PCBs [Polychlorinated biphenyl], are reported as a single value known as the total Toxic Equivalent (TEQ). There are 29 chemicals of concern in this class.

Despite finding 53 cattle herds which had been exposed to contaminated feed and at least three that showed signs of dioxin in the animals, the Irish authorities have said the dioxin levels “do not pose a risk to public health” and were not seeking to remove beef products from the shelves. In fact authorities on both sides of the border insisted that pork, beef and milk were safe to eat [BBC].

In Northern Ireland some Irish pork products were already returning to the shelves after being given the all clear. But it remains to be seen if consumers will be as confident as the UK’s Food Standards Authority and Irish Agricultural Ministry. The effects of the crisis have already been felt with over 1,400 pork processing workers having been laid off and Irish pork products have been pulled from shelves in 21 countries [Sky News].

[Article posted in Chinese at Global News Watch]

Irish pork off the Christmas list

Consumers are being told to dispose of any pork products from Ireland after they were found to contain high levels of dioxin. It’s an industry worth £394 million, according to the Food & Drink Industry of Ireland, and the financial impact will be strongly felt across the agricultural industry. The crisis couldn’t have come at a worse time. As Christmas approaches farmers and retailers were hoping to cash in at a time of economic gloom.

At least nine premises in Northern Ireland and 47 in the Irish Republic have been linked to the contaminated meat after being supplied with feed said to be contaminated with dioxin. The pig feed being linked to the contamination is thought to have been feed tainted with oil from a County Carlow firm which recycles food in pig meal. Millstream Power Recycling Limited said it was investigating how the firm's "strict health and safety procedures...could possibly have been breached" [BBC].

China has constantly been in the news over the last few months over contaminated milk, eggs and meat. But this latest food scandal, which strikes at the heart of the European meat industry, will set alarm bells ringing. The EU have only issued a short statement so far saying they are “very concerned about the situation”.

Dioxin is often produced by combustion such as in forest fires and industrial processes. Although people are exposed to dioxins daily, from cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes and bonfires, high levels can be dangerous. There is evidence that dioxins can cause cancer along with other effects on the immune system. In European regulation, dioxins, along with other potentially harmful chemicals called Furans and dioxin-like PCBs [Polychlorinated biphenyl], are reported as a single value known as the total Toxic Equivalent (TEQ). There are 29 chemicals of concern in this class. However the Food Standards Agency says it is awaiting detailed data to show how much of each chemical there is in the contaminated pork.

The reporting of the food scare dropped off the news agenda for national broadcasters though it remained the top story in Northern Ireland on the BBC’s local news programme Newsline. But for the some 5,000 Irish farmers, butchers and other meat industry workers the story remains at the forefront of their minds, with many hoping for an ‘all clear’ from the Food Standards Agency before Christmas, which is a little over two weeks away.