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Practical Guide to Metal Detection-Food Industry
Fortress Technology
German authorities have said up to 3,000 tonnes of dioxin-contaminated animal feed additive may have been sold – almost six times more than previously estimated - as more details about the crisis emerged yesterday.
Officials had earlier estimated that 527 tonnes of the additive, which is believed to have been tainted with industrial fats containing the toxic chemical, have been delivered to hen, poultry and pig farms in Germany.
A spokesperson for EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli told the BBC it was "too early" to consider a ban on exports.
Contaminated eggs
The alarm was raised last week when eggs and meat containing trace amounts of dioxin were discovered. Dioxin is a poisonous chemical, linked to the development of cancer in humans.
Some 136,000 contaminated eggs have been exported to the Netherlands that could have been used as ingredients in processed food such as mayonnaise, it was revealed yesterday. However, German agriculture ministry spokesman Holger Eichele said it was not aware of exports to any other EU nations.
The news came as police in Germany carried out searches Wednesday at Harles and Jentzsch - the feed producer at the centre of the incident in Schleswig-Holstein that produced the fat - and a subsidiary in Lower Saxony.
Harles and Jentzsch sold the fat to 25 German feed manufacturers although it currently appears that no feed was sold to firms abroad.
So far more than 1,100 farms in Germany have been shut as a result of the crisis, most in Lower Saxony, and some 8,000 hens culled.
The European Union has demanded an explanation for the cause of the contamination and there have been calls within Germany for stricter industry regulation and tougher penalties against offenders.
The UK Food Standards Agency said there was no evidence to suggest that potentially contaminated animal feed, or food from the animals that may have eaten the feed, had entered the UK.
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Environmental consultant from ADAS commenting on German dioxin contamination
This can result in unwarranted worry for both consumer and farmer. This case appears to have come about when raw materials for poultry feed destined for egg laying farms in German became contaminated.
It is right to point out that dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (e.g. PCBs) are potentially dangerous as they can accumulate in fatty tissues of the body and have been linked to cancers and developmental problems in children. It is also right to point out when there is little or no potential risk to health, as did the Food Standards Agency.
There has been a decline in the levels of dioxins across the EU since the 1970’s, as some of the manufacturing processes that can give rise to them have been discontinued, but the European Commission has required regular monitoring of these compounds in animal feed and human food. The World Health Authority derives toxicity equivalent factors, and the whole dioxin story appears to be better understood after research centres in Europe spent time in recent years looking at low-dose and high-dose effects.
It is a good reflection on overall health monitoring that the dioxins were found and their progress determined by good record keeping that is part of the ‘farm-to-food’ traceability ethos. This type of traceability is present throughout UK farming and food sectors, therefore consumers should feel reassured that the time spent ensuring that these systems are in place over and above their other duties is not wasted. Not clear whose duties are meant here.
These systems do have a cost. Wise consumers appreciate these efforts and think about the quality of their food and where it comes from. I would say that, far from criticism, we should applaud all concerned for their prompt response to the situation in discovery, tracing and action.
Jason Gittins
Principal Poultry Consultant at ADAS
Wolverhampton
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Posted by Jason Gittins
14 January 2011 | 16h08