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[1] Ireland
Date: Sat 6 Dec 2008
Source: Irish Times [edited]
<http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1206/breaking44.htm>


All Irish pork products have been recalled tonight [6 Dec 2008]
because of fears that animal feed has been contaminated with harmful
toxins.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland made the announcement shortly
before 8 pm after pig meat on a number of farms was found to have had
between 80 and 200 times more dioxins that the recognized safety
limit.

The recall affects all products produced since 1 Sep 2008, and the
public have been advised to destroy all pork bought since that date.

The recall will have very severe repercussions for the State's pork
industry, which is worth close to half a billion euros [USD 500
million] annually.

The announcement was made at a joint press briefing held by the FSAI
and the Departments of Health and Agriculture.

The contamination 1st came to light last Monday but was only
confirmed by Government officials today [6 Dec 2008].

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said an "intensive investigation"
had been underway this week. He said 47 farms, including 38 beef
farms, had been restricted because they were identified as having
received possibly contaminated animal feed. There was only one feed
supplier involved, he said.

"Full prohibition of animal movement from these herds is in place.
We've outlined the actions that we're taking on recall of pork and
bacon following the receipt of the laboratory results earlier this
evening. The issue of beef involvement is very different. Our
assessment on the basis of advice from the Food Safety Authority of
Ireland is that no further action at this stage other than what we
have done in prohibiting movement off the farms is required. Testing
is, however, taking place on a precautionary basis in line with our
overall approach to this problem."

Earlier this week, restrictions were placed on a number of pig farms
after organic pollutants known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs),
which are linked to dioxins, were detected in pork fat during routine
monitoring.

Dioxins are complex organic compounds released into the atmosphere
from fires and other forms of combustion. They are naturally
occurring and accumulate in the fat of animal or in plant tissue.

They are mostly found in insignificant levels, but a small number are
highly toxic and can cause a range of ailments from cancer to skin
diseases and damage to the reproductive and immune systems.

Consumption of dioxins above safe levels over a lifetime may result
in an increased risk of cancer. The World Health Organisation and the
European Union's Scientific Committee for Food have determined the
levels of exposure to dioxins which are safe. The pork tested this
week had up to 200 times more dioxins than is considered safe.

Rod Evans, a spokesman for the FSAI told Irishtimes.com that the
health risks were likely to be "very small" and said a short period
"of higher level exposure to the dioxins is unlikely to have any
health consequences."

The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, said she and Ministers Smith,
Sargent and Wallace had spent the day in discussions with experts.

"I think we've acted in a timely fashion given that the confirmation
happened at 3.40 this afternoon [6 Dec 2008] from the laboratories in
York in the UK," she said.

"From now on, those products will be withdrawn from the market
obviously here and internationally. We hope that non-contaminated
pork products can be very quickly back on the market ... provided
they operate to the highest possible standards as far as public
health is concerned."

The president of the IFA Padraig Walshe said the recall was "an
absolute disaster" at an "important time of the year for the pig
sector." Speaking on RTE television, he said he expected "perfectly
safe" pork from Irish producers to be on sale again by the middle of
next week.

Tonight's [6 Dec 2008] recall involves retailers, the hospitality
sector and the Irish pig processing sector, and the FSAI advised
people "as a precautionary measure not to consume Irish pork and
bacon products at this time."

The statement said investigations involving the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) and the FSAI were continuing
to determine the extent of the contamination and to identify the
processors and products involved. It said that updates about the
extent of the risk from human consumption would also be made
available.

In recent years, there have been a number of dioxin contamination
incidents of food worldwide. In 1998, dioxin-contaminated citrus pulp
from Brazil was used in feed for dairy animals in France and resulted
in contaminated milk. A year later in Belgium, dioxin-laden machine
oil contaminated animal feed, affecting poultry, eggs, red meat and
milk, which caused a major food crisis.

The pig farming industry is the 4th largest sector in Irish
agriculture, and some 400 pig farmers are operating in the sector.

[Byline: Conor Pope and Mary Minhan]

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall