Dioxin contamination of eggs and poultry originating from small farms in Germany have led to products being pulled from shelves as an expanding investigation continues. A growing fear of food laced with the carcinogenic compound have led some countries to scrutinize or even block German food imports.
The source of the contamination is thought to come from biofuel waste mixed into animal feed that was eventually used by nearly 5,000 small German poultry and pork farms. The New York Times describes the growing questions about accountability as the financial costs of the contamination build:
German officials said the levels of the toxin dioxin in meat and eggs was likely to be too low to affect human health. But the episode, which was expected to cost German farmers tens of millions of dollars, was already raising questions about the rigor of food testing in Germany and the strength of food safety regulations in the European Union.
The episode has already led “John Dali, the European Union’s health commissioner, [to call] for stricter regulation on animal feed to protect consumers and farmers throughout the bloc,” according to The New York Times. In the U.S., recent legislation seeking to empower the FDA is also intended to better safeguard consumers from food contamination.
The AP reports that “South Korea [is] banning pork imports and Slovakia suspending poultry sales”, which the German government sees as an “overreaction.” However, after initial reports said that the dioxin levels in the feed were safe, German government testing reported that some samples had between 73 to 77 times the approved amount, while European Union tests have found eggs tested to contain dioxin levels five times above the EU standard.
Other countries which import German food products; including Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom have launched their own investigations or have begun pulling products from their shelves.
Posted by Michael Lucivero.
