Recall of Chilean chicken testing positive for dioxin expands

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service on August 15 expanded the amount of poultry products being recalled by the Chilean Ministry of Health after the poultry products tested positive for the presence of dioxin. An earlier recall of poultry from Chile was issued on July 27.
Importers have been instructed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service to hold chicken products, which were presented for re-inspection.
Food Safety and Inspection Service determined that 343,637 pounds of chicken may be affected and 155,595 pounds are currently being held. During the July recall of poultry products from Chile, the U.S. agency determined that 188,522 pounds of chicken may be affected and 126,082 pounds were held.
Through effectiveness checks, the agency determined 188,042 pounds were distributed to federal establishments for further processing, a distributor, and retail locations in Florida, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.
At very high doses for a prolonged period, dioxins can have adverse health effects. However, the Food Safety and Inspection Service determined that exposure to dioxin in these products is low and no health threat is posed. 

Chile recalls chicken tested positive for dioxin

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing a public notification of a recall being conducted by the Chilean Ministry of Health for chicken products. After receiving official notification from the government of Chile of the positive result for dioxin in the chicken products, the Food Safety and Inspection Service instructed importers to hold product, which was presented for re-inspection.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined that 188,522 pounds of chicken may be affected and 126,082 pounds is currently being held. The agency is investigating the distribution of the remaining 62,440 pounds and verifying if additional shipments are involved.
Based on the information provided by the Chilean government, the Food Safety and Inspection Service has reason to believe that recent shipments of poultry from Chile contain dioxin, and, because they have been recalled, they are unfit for consumption. Specifically, all products produced at San Vicente between May 29 and June 12 are considered adulterated and should be destroyed.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service may expand the public notification and will take necessary and appropriate action after analyzing updated information received from the government of Chile. The Chilean Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture oversees the recall activities and investigations in Chile. Food Safety and Inspection Service is performing effectiveness checks in the U.S. by verifying that those companies that received implicated product from the Chile-initiated recall have been notified and that all adulterated product is held and destroyed.
Dioxins are a group of inorganic compounds that form naturally during forest fires, as well as from industrial emissions and burning trash. They are incorporated into plants and are potentially eaten by animals where they become concentrated in animal fat. People are exposed to low levels of dioxins through their diet with lesser exposure from air and soil. At very high doses for a prolonged period, dioxins can have adverse health effects. FSIS has determined that exposure to dioxin in the product is low and does not pose a health threat.

Dioxin found in German farm eggs

The chemical dioxin has been found in above-acceptable levels in the eggs of another German farm near Aurich in the state of Lower Saxony, according to the Lower Saxony state agriculture ministry.
The discovery is the latest in a string of eight other farms since April, where dioxin has been found in Lower Saxony and the neighboring state of North Rhine Westphalia. The cause of some of the outbreaks is thought to be free-range chickens living on earth contaminated by construction materials.
The currently contaminated farm holds 1,000 free-range hens. It has been sealed off while investigations are underway and its eggs cannot be sold, said authorities. The ministry has said there is no danger to public health.

Dioxin found in eggs on German farm

The chemical dioxin has been found above permitted levels in eggs from a German farm in Lower Saxony, according to the state agriculture ministry, the seventh farm to be found contaminated since April.
The farm and its 12,000 chickens have been quarantined and its eggs recalled from sale. The farm discovered the dioxin during its own safety checks, said the ministry, and there is no acute danger to public health.
The previous dioxin cases were in eggs at farms in Lower Saxony and the neighboring state of North Rhine Westphalia. In January 2011, a European Union-wide health alert was announced when dioxin-contaminated animal feed in Germany fed to hens and pigs led to contaminated eggs, poultry meat and pork at affected farms. The outbreak led to Germany introducing a series of measures including restrictions on animal feed ingredients and increased inspections of farms and feed.

Dioxin found in eggs from German farms

The chemical dioxin has been found in above-permitted levels in eggs from five farms in the central German state of North Rhine Westphalia, according to the state agriculture ministry.
The first three farms had levels of dioxin three to six times permitted levels, and all farms have been sealed off and are not permitted to sell any more eggs. How the chemical got into the eggs is unclear, as the animal feed samples from the farms have shown no contamination.
In January 2011, an EU-wide health alert started when German officials said animal feed tainted with dioxin had been fed to hens and pigs, contaminating eggs, poultry meat and pig meat at the affected farms. Germany then introduced a series of new measures including restrictions on animal feed ingredients and more rigorous routine food testing.

EU drafts vegetable oil regulation to prevent dioxin contamination

Draft regulation meant to provide increased protection against dioxin contamination has been approved by the European Union member states at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health and has been sent on to the European Parliament and Council, according to reports.
The regulation, a response to Germany's December 2010 and January 2011 dioxin crisis that resulted in the shutdown of egg and meat sales from 4,700 farms after contaminated animal feed was found, focuses on four key measures:

• Feed businesses processing crude vegetable oils, manufacturing products derived from oils of vegetable origin and blending fats, will have to be approved (not just registered) by the competent authority.
• Fats intended for feed and food will be strictly segregated during their production and transport from fats intended for technical use in the chemical industry. Product labels must explicitly mention their intended use to help prevent products unfit for feed from entering the food chain.
• An EU harmonized plan, with mandatory minimum testing for dioxin depending on the risk inherent to the products, will be introduced. The testing will focus on the risky products at the moment they enter the feed chain to facilitate the detection of non-compliant cases and the enforcement of feed law.
• All laboratories must directly notify the competent authorities of any excessive findings of dioxins.

If the regulation is approved by the European Commission, it is expected to enter into force in mid-2012.

South Africa considering opening animal feed dioxin test center

Recent incidents involving the accidental contamination of animal feeds with dioxins have led to countries like South Africa wanting to begin their own testing of feed products for dioxins.
At the Victam International feed industries show in Cologne, Germany, the focus was on further product testing to certify feeds as safe. Currently, South African feed manufacturers must send samples abroad for testing, due to an absence of certified facilities to conduct the tests in their own country. Talks are due to begin shortly between the private sector and the government to explore possibilities for opening a South African test center. Several options have been proposed, including an extension of the operations performed by the South African Bureau of Standards laboratory and the South African Grain Laboratory, which already runs checks for things like mycotoxins.
Information from a national dioxins lab would go into a new database to be maintained by the country's Animal Feed Manufacturers Association, which already has databases on test results for contaminants, including mycotoxins and salmonella, to act as an early warning alert if problems arise.

Germany dioxin danger passed, say EU health experts

European Union health experts have said that the recent dioxin contamination of animal feed in Germany is no longer a threat.
"The member states, meeting in the framework of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, recognized that the contamination incident is fully under control by the German authorities and there is no risk that potentially contaminated food and feed are placed on the EU market or dispatched to Third countries," said an EU statement. "All potentially contaminated feed fat, compound feed and farms having received potentially contaminated feed have been blocked by way of strict precaution pending the outcome of dioxin analysis."
Only 49 of the 4,760 German farms sealed off at the height of the alert remain closed, and the investigation into the cause of the contamination remains ongoing, according to German officials.

Germany kills hundreds of pigs as dioxin troubles spread

German authorities ordered hundreds of pigs slaughtered after tests at one farm showed the animals had elevated levels of dioxin in their systems.
This is the first instance of evidence that the contamination has spread beyond poultry and eggs, according to authorities, who had already halted pork sales as a precaution when the contamination was first discovered. "We were specifically investigating this farm because they had bought their livestock feed from Harles & Jentzsch, the company that delivered tainted feed to all the other farms that had to be banned," said Lower Saxony's Agriculture Minister Gert Hahne.
The investigation into both Harles & Jentzsch and potentially infected farms continues, with 558 of the original 4,700 targeted farms remaining closed.

FEFAC dioxin testing protocol addresses contamination risks linked to feed fat supply chain

The European Compound Feed Manufacturers' Federation, FEFAC, revealed a two-pillar action plan to address dioxin contamination risks linked to the feed fat supply chain.
Such a step comes on the heels of the recent dioxin-contaminated animal feed issue in Germany, which temporarily closed down 4,700 farms and disrupted trade in the region. The two pillars of the plan, submitted at the 2nd European Commission briefing for the European Union feed fat chain partners, are:
Pillar 1: Development of a testing protocol for a structured dioxin monitoring plan of the feed fat supply chain at EU level before the end of the month.
Pillar 2: Review of the registration, i.e., approval requirements for fat blending businesses under the EU Feed Hygiene Regulation (EC) No 183/2005.
“Although the German authorities consider fraud at the fat blending plant which mixed technical fats in feed fats as the most plausible road of the contamination, we, as customers, must take all necessary and effective action which can help preventing such incidents in the future,” said FEFAC President Patrick Vanden Avenne. “In our view, this would require a combination of an industry-own structured monitoring plan and specific legal requirements for the approval of fat blending plants, which currently only have to be registered under the EU Feed Hygiene Regulation.”

Germany lifts dioxin-related bans on 3,050 farms

German agricultural officials have given 3,050 farms the go-ahead to resume sales after originally closing down more than 4,700 facilities in response to the dioxin contamination of livestock feed from Harles & Jentzsch GmbH.
The number of farms still awaiting the go-ahead from inspectors currently stands at 1,635. "The situation has eased ...but there can't be an all-clear yet," said Agriculture Ministry spokesman Holger Eichele. In response to Germany's actions, Slovakia has lifted its ban on German farm products, though South Korea has halted all imports of German pork and poultry and Britain has stopped selling quiches and cakes made with German eggs.
Government officials are still investigating the contaminated feed and are looking into legal action against Harles & Jentzsch. "The judiciary has to clamp down hard here," said Agriculture Minister Isle Aigner.

Dioxin-tainted eggs exported to UK pose no health risk

Fourteen tons of dioxin-tainted liquid eggs from Germany exported to the United Kingdom are not thought to pose a health risk, according to officials.
The eggs were used in such end products as cakes and quiches, according to the Food Standards Agency.
At least 136,000 potentially contaminated eggs were already known to have been shipped to the Netherlands in early December, but the investigation to determine just how far the contamination might have spread is ongoing, according to German Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner. UK authorities have launched their own effort, attempting to follow the paths of items produced with the tainted eggs. "These eggs were mixed with other non-contaminated eggs to make pasteurized liquid egg," said an FSA representative. "This pasteurized liquid egg has been distributed to the UK. 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 dioxin contamination comes from tainted animal feed supplied by Harles & Jentzsch GmbH. The company has said that it was "careless" in assuming a certain mixed fatty acid, normally used for technical industrial uses such as making lubricants and biofuels, would be suitable for manufacture of animal feed. Up to 3,000 metric tons of the feed was shipped to farmers in eight German states, said Holger Eichele, a spokesman for Aigner.
Over 4,700 farms have been affected, leading the German Farmers' Association to call for compensation. The farms have been shut down as a precaution and will not be allowed to make any deliveries until they have been checked and found clear of contamination. The majority of the farms are pig properties in Lower Saxony. Born said that while it is too soon to produce an exact monetary figure, the association is expecting the total to be "in the millions" of euros.

Dioxin contamination in German eggs, pork result of technical fats in feed

After the recent discovery of excessive amounts of dioxin in its products and animal feeds, forcing more than 1,000 farms producing eggs, poultry and pork in Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to halt sales, Harles & Jentzsch GmbH has said it was "careless" in assuming a certain mixed fatty acid would be "suitable for manufacture of animal feed."
The company said that for years it has manufactured using technical fats, which are typically used for making lubricants and biofuels and in cosmetics. A total of 2,700 metric tons of contaminated animal feed was shipped to farmers in eight German states, with 90% ending up in Lower Saxony, said Holger Eichele, a spokesman for German Minister of Agriculture and Consumer Protection Ilse Aigner.
Food retailers are currently testing their products to see if any items return positive for dioxin, as more than 100,000 contaminated eggs are thought to have been shipped to various shops. Agriculture officials are also conducting inspections to determine which farms have been supplied with the hazardous feed. Authorities are investigating to determine whether a criminal offense has been committed.