Re: Germany - Dioxin shuts farms, hens culled, eggs exported
Re: Germany - Dioxin shuts farms, hens culled, eggs exported
<TABLE id=apex_layout_271110100662109808 class=formlayout border=0 summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD noWrap align=right>
Archive Number</TD><TD noWrap align=left>20110108.0096</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>
Published Date</TD><TD noWrap align=left>08-JAN-2011</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>
Subject</TD><TD noWrap align=left>PRO/AH/EDR> Dioxin feed contamination - Germany (02): farms & food concern</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
DIOXIN FEED CONTAMINATION - GERMANY (02): FARMS AND FOOD CONCERN
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A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
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[1]
Date: 7 Jan 2011
Source: NY Times [edited]
<
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/world/europe/08dioxin.html?_r=1&hp>
Germans Fear Dioxin Has Contaminated Small Farms
------------------------------------------------
German officials halted sales from more than 4700 small farms after
dioxin was found in some feed for chickens and pigs and as fears grew
about how far contaminated food might have spread.
South Korea and Slovakia on Friday [7 Jan 2011] banned the sale of
some animal products imported from Germany, while Britain and the
Netherlands were investigating whether imported foods like
mayonnaise, were safe to eat, according to the Associated Press.
The order to stop sales from the farms has led to the withdrawal from
the market of millions of eggs, as prosecutors investigate how a
rapeseed oil processed by a company that supplied the feed became
contaminated by dioxin. The substance can cause severe health
problems in humans, including cancer and miscarriages.
Since the scare became public at the beginning of this week [3 Jan
2011], up to 3000 tons of an additive to poultry feed have been found
to contain traces of dioxin, according to a report from the German
Agriculture Ministry. In a country where scares concerning food
safety can sometimes lead to hysteria or panic buying, regional
authorities and the federal government moved quickly to reassure the
public, saying that the level of dioxin would be too low to pose health risks.
There were fears that the health scare may have gone beyond Germany's
borders to the Netherlands. According to Holger Eichele, a spokesman
for the German Agricultural and Consumer Protection Ministry, a total
of 136 000 eggs were delivered to a Dutch firm. "The company has
already been informed about the problem and so has the European
Commission," Mr. Eichele said. "We are not aware of any other
deliveries to other E.U. member states."
Ilse Aigner said the federal and local authorities would consider
whether regulations on animal feed needed tightening. After speaking
to John Dali, the European Union's health commissioner Thursday
evening [6 Jan 2011], Ms. Aigner called for stricter regulation on
animal feed to protect consumers and farmers throughout the bloc.
"In the coming weeks, I will explore with our E.U. partners and
stakeholders ways to further strengthen our monitoring processes of
dioxin in feed," Mr. Dali said in a statement.
The scare began when Harles and Jentzsch, a German firm in the
northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, allegedly supplied up to 3000
tons of contaminated fatty acids meant for industrial use to animal
feed producers.
The company says the contamination of its animal feed with
dioxin-laced industrial fat was an isolated case and that it notified
the authorities. The feed was delivered mostly to hog and poultry
farms, and eggs from some of the suspect farms were exported to the
Netherlands. As a result, around 8000 chickens from German farms were culled.
The German Farmers' Association has called for the feed producers to
compensate farmers for their losses. "Whoever causes the damages
should also pay for them," the secretary general of the association,
Helmut Born, told the German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.
Gerd Sonnleitner, president of the association, said on Friday that
the estimated loss to the industry was USD 52 million to USD 70 million a week.
Ms. Aigner said the company responsible for the contamination would
have to pay the consequences. "Whoever puts the existence of hundreds
of companies and the health of consumers at risk must be held
accountable," she said.
[Byline: Judy Dempsey]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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promed@promedmail.org>
******
[2]
Date: 7 Jan 2011
Source: Speigel On line [edited]
<
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,738337,00.html>
Report Claims German Company Knew of Dioxin for Weeks
-----------------------------------------------------
More than 4700 farms have been temporarily closed in Germany as a
result of a feed contamination scare. On Friday [7 Jan 2011],
officials in one German state said samples taken from the company at
the center of the investigation indicated contamination with the
carcinogen dioxin as far back as March [2010]. State officials in
Germany have found that animal feed discovered this week to have been
polluted by industrial oil has apparently been in circulation longer
than previously reported.
Germany has been shocked by the food tainting scandal, which has
spread to 13 different German states and could have affected
neighboring countries. At issue is dioxin, a known cancer-causing
agent, which has been found at high levels in eggs and is feared be
in poultry and pork coming from farms that used feed polluted by the toxin.
A spokesperson for the Agriculture Ministry in the northern state of
Schleswig-Holstein confirmed on Friday a report in the Hannoversche
Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that a private laboratory discovered
twice the amount of legally permitted dioxin in a test, taken in
March [2010], of animal feed from the firm Harles and Jentzsch, which
is at the center of the scandal. The ministry 1st learned of that
violation on 27 Dec 2010, the report stated.
The newspaper reported that the animal feed company had commissioned
the test on its own accord but did not share the findings with state
authorities. The state's feed monitoring agency in the city of
Uetersen seized the sample on 29 Dec 2010 and turned it over to
public prosecutors. A spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry told the
newspaper that there had been other irregularities discovered during
the company's own inspections since March [2010], which are also
being investigated.
Thousands of Farms Closed
-------------------------
The Federal Agricultural and Consumer Protection Ministry in Berlin
announced Friday [7 Jan 2011] that a total of 4709 farms have been
temporarily closed in Germany, and have banned from selling meat or
eggs as a result of the contamination scare. European Union officials
have reported that eggs contaminated in the scandal have been
exported to Britain and the Netherlands for use in the production of
food. In South Korea, government officials moved on Friday to block
imports of German pork and poultry products.
Most of the farms feared to have been supplied with the contaminated
feed are located in the western state of Lower Saxony. A total of
4468 companies have been affected, with a large number of those being
hog farms. The ministry said the decision to close the farms was
purely a precautionary measure. "Even if part of the 1st tests didn't
show anything unusual, the preventative protection of public health
takes absolute priority," ministry officials said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, the European Commission said on Thursday
night it did not believe that the levels of dioxin found pose health
risks to humans. Dioxins are created by burning waste or in other
industrial processes and are known carcinogens.
Although it remains unclear how the dioxin ended up in the animal
feed, investigators believe that dioxin-tainted industrial oils were
accidentally mixed in with fat used for animal feed at Harles and
Jentzsch. On Thursday, the company denied rumors it was threatened
with insolvency because of the contamination scandal.
In response to the issue, German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner, of
the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), has called for
stricter regulations across Europe to ensure the protection of the
food chain. Her ministry issued a statement saying she had spoken
with the European Union's consumer protection minister, John Dalli,
about the need for binding EU standards to isolate toxic materials.
"Companies that produce fat for animal feed should not be producing
materials on the same premises for the technical industry," Aigner said.
Dioxin 10 Times the Permitted Level
-----------------------------------
Independent tests have confirmed high levels of dioxin in Harles and
Jentzsch's products. In 9 of 20 tests at the company, dioxin levels
exceeded the highest permitted value of 0.75 nanograms, the state
Agriculture Ministry in Schleswig-Holstein has reported.
According to the ministry, the highest level found was 10.05
nanograms, 10 times the legal limit. The ministry said that the 9
samples "were not suited for the production of animal feed because it
exceeded the maximum permitted yield," the ministry said. The test
samples were collected by the company.
The German federal government is reporting that up to 150 000 tons of
feed for chickens, turkey and swine have been contaminated with the
toxin. The fat provided by Harles and Jentzsch had been mixed into
products made by 25 different feed manufacturers.
But Aigner, the federal agriculture minister, said that, so far,
there is no knowledge of any health impact on consumers. On Thursday,
officials in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate also discovered
500 eggs at a company that had received a delivery of
dioxin-contaminated feed, broadening the scandal to 13 German states.
In Hesse, young swine have been found that had consumed contaminated
feed. There is also evidence that dioxin-contaminated goods reached
the southwestern state of Baden-Wurttemberg.
In Bavaria, eggs seized by authorities have tested positive for
dioxin contamination. Contaminated feed was also sent to farms with
laying hens and hogs in the states of Brandenburg,
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North
Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia.
The scandal broke in Germany on Monday, and farmers are now demanding
an estimated Euro 40 million (USD 52 million) to Euro 60 million (USD
78.1 million) in compensation for each week they are affected by the
contamination.
Food contamination issues are particularly sensitive in Europe, where
memories are still fresh of the spread of mad cow disease and
problems with foot and mouth disease.
--
Communicated by:
Zofar Gali <
zofargali@hotmail.com>
******
[3]
Date: 7 Jan 2011
Source: BBC [edited]
<
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12139407>
Dioxin scare: German feed fat 'contains 77 times limit'
-------------------------------------------------------
Tests from the Harles und Jentzsch plant in northern Germany found
excessive levels of dioxin. Newly released test results have revealed
much more of a toxic chemical in tainted animal feed than previously
thought. The tests at the plant in northern Germany where the
contamination happened revealed levels of dioxin at 77 times the
permitted level.
The plant produces fats to be used in industrial processes like
paper-making as well as to enrich feeds for animals. The dioxin-laden
industrial substance went into the animal feed ingredient. Initially
the scare was confined to Germany, but then it emerged that a batch
of affected eggs had been exported to the Netherlands for processing
and from there to Britain. The processed eggs were destined for use
in the production of a variety of foodstuffs including mayonnaise,
cakes and quiches.
Some 4700 German farms have been banned from making deliveries after
tests at the Harles und Jentzsch plant in the state of
Schleswig-Holstein.The firm was found to have supplied 25 animal feed
makers with 3000 tonnes of contaminated fat. German officials say the
farm measures are only a precaution.
Authorities believe some 150 000 tons of feed for poultry and swine
containing the fat have been fed to livestock across the country.
South Korea has reacted by blocking imports of German pork and
poultry products.
According to Schleswig-Holstein's agriculture ministry, the
contaminated fats contained 58 nanograms of dioxin per kilogram. The
acceptable limit is 0.75 nanograms of dioxin per kilogram.
The ministry has confirmed that tests as far back as March last year
[2010] showed high levels of dioxins, but it was unaware of the
results until late December [2010].
Those results have now been seized as evidence by prosecutors. "The
1st indications point to a high level of illegal activity," said a
spokesman for German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner on Friday.
"There are indications that the company was not even officially
registered, in order not to expose itself to official controls," he added.
A doctor from the town of Havixbeck, near Munster, has lodged a
criminal complaint of attempted murder and severe injury against
Harles und Jentzsch, saying the company had acted out of greed.
German agriculture officials will brief their European Union
counterparts next week and the incident could lead to new rules on
animal feed. Dioxins are toxins formed by industrial processes and
waste burning.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
******
[4]
Date: 7 Jan 2011
Source: The Guardian [edited]
<
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/07/dioxin-alert-eggs-enter-uk-german-farms>
German contaminated egg scare spreads to British supermarkets
-------------------------------------------------------------
Food agency confirms liquid egg containing illegal levels of dioxins
has been used in cakes and quiches sold in UK. Cakes and quiches sold
in British supermarkets have been contaminated by dioxins after a
food scare in Germany that led to the closure of almost 5000 farms.
The Food Standards Agency is playing down the risk to human health
but has advised supermarkets to clear their shelves of the products
as a precaution.
A spokesman said: "The products that the liquid egg went into were
short shelf-life cakes and quiches that have gone to a variety of
retailers including most of the high street supermarkets."
The products involved have not yet been named. But the FSA revealed
that contaminated liquid eggs were supplied to Kensey Foods in
Cornwall, a division of Samworth Brothers, and Memory Lane Cakes Ltd
in Cardiff, a division of Finsbury Food Group.
The FSA said it did not have a "definitive list" of the supermarkets
that sold the cakes and quiches involved but Tesco and Morrisons were
2 of them.
"Supermarkets are removing the small amount of products that are
still in date," the FSA spokesman said. "Because of the short shelf
life of these products it is likely that most has gone through the
system, as it were. So there won't be a lot on shelves."
A spokesman for Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, said: "At
the moment I am not aware of us clearing any products off our
shelves." Earlier it was revealed that 14 tonnes of liquid egg
contaminated in the scare had entered the UK.
Health officials insist that the liquid, used in foods such as
pastries and mayonnaise, poses a very low risk to human health.
The contamination originated in Germany, where up to 3000 tonnes of
animal feed containing dangerous levels of dioxin were sent to
poultry and pig farms. Tests on eggs from affected farms had been
found to contain up to 5 times the legal EU limit for dioxin.
Germany closed more than 4700 farms as a result. Armies of health
inspectors have been dispatched to carry out checks on all the farms
suspected of using the feed. They must remain closed until they have
been given the all clear. German consumers have been advised to buy
only organic eggs and meat until inspections have been completed.
The scare is costing German farmers Euro 60 million (British pounds
550 million) a week as egg sales have plummeted.
On Wednesday [5 Jan 2011] the Food Standards Agency said the
contaminated food had not entered the UK. But in an update last night
[6 Jan 2011] it said contaminated pasteurised liquid egg had been
distributed to the UK. The liquid is a mixture of contaminated and
non-contaminated eggs processed in the Netherlands.
In a statement the FSA said: "The mixing of the eggs will have
diluted the levels of dioxins and they are not thought to be a risk
to health. The FSA is currently liaising with the industry and will
provide further updates as information becomes available."
The European commission health spokesman, Frederic Vincent, said 14
tonnes of the affected liquid had entered the UK. "Whether it went
into mayonnaise, pastries, I don't know. So we will probably take a
look at this with the UK authorities and see what was done with these
eggs," he said.
Vincent said the detected levels of dioxin were not a health risk.
"You would have to eat a lot of eggs, or a lot of processed products
made with these eggs, in order for this to actually pose a risk to
human health."
The problem appears to have originated when oils intended for biofuel
became mixed with oil destined for animal feed.
Newspaper reports have accused the supplier at the centre of the
affair of distributing the feed despite knowing for months about the
contamination levels. The Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reported
that fatty acids destined for animal feed produced by the company
Harles und Jentsch tested positive for illegally high levels of
dioxin in March 2010.
Those fatty acids were passed on to another company that distributed
them to feed producers around Germany, Gert Hahne, spokesman for the
Lower Saxony agriculture ministry, told the paper.
Politicians and farming industry chiefs have called for tighter
controls to hinder what Thuringia's agriculture minister, Jurgen
Reinholz, called the "charlatans of the industry."
Dioxins are formed by industrial processes and waste burning. Low
levels occur naturally in foods. At high concentrations they have
been shown to contribute to higher cancer rates and affect pregnant women.
[Byline: Kate Connolly and Matthew Weaver]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall
[While there is some overlap among these articles it gives a clear
and relatively comprehensive picture, as we know today, that this is
a longer standing and farther reaching problem than was initially believed.
The levels are certainly higher than are allowed. Of course there are
cancer concerns, especially for those already immunologically
affected, the pregnant and the very young. I say the very young
because they have a lifetime to live and develop cancer. While this
level is higher than the regulatory limit, it is very very tiny and
does not began to compare with what Italy experienced in 1976.
The previous ProMED-mail post 20110105.0053 moderator's comment
provided an overview of dioxins. But perhaps some pertinent history
should be a reminder regarding dioxins.
Seveso, Italy, suffered a dioxin release many times higher than this
particular accident (around 50 micrograms). While there were
immediate cases of chloracne and some animal deaths, there were few
other consequences. A study done in the early 1990's demonstrated
that there was no higher death rate and no higher cancer rate than in
areas that had no contamination from the dioxin.
To provide a little more perspective 50 micrograms would be 50 000
nanograms, or 5000 times more than what this current level of concern
is. Therefore, it is even more important to realize that aside from
immediate cases of chloracne, and some dead animals, there was not an
increase in cancer rates or death rates.
Chloracne is an acne-like eruption of blackheads, cysts, and pustules
associated with over-exposure to certain halogenated aromatic
compounds, such as chlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans.
In the late 1990's Europe suffered another such contamination and
milk and eggs and meat were removed from the shelves and fear was
rampant. There has not been any substantial increase in cancers or
deaths because of that incident. - Mod.TG]
...
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