Contaminated animal feed from Serbia found in the Netherlands

Contaminated animal feed from Serbia has been found on five pig farms in the Netherlands, according to food safety body NVWA, with three other farms affected from contaminated Romanian feed. The feed contains corn contaminated with aflatoxin and was first discovered in Germany on March 1, where 6,500 farms are thought to be involved.
Because some of the feed was transported via Rotterdam, Netherlands, port, the NVWA began an investigation into the spread of the feed in the Netherlands. There is no danger to public health, according to the organization. The corn is mixed with other grains so that the animals do not ingest more aflatoxin than is allowed. There is also no sign that contaminated feed has reached dairy farms.

Cyprus seizes contaminated animal feed

The Cyprus Agriculture Ministry has seized two shipments of animal feed from Argentina and Bulgaria after they were found to be contaminated with Salmonella and aflatoxins.
The Bulgaria shipment had around 1,700 metric tons of corn animal feed in which aflatoxins were detected, and the Argentina shipment had 7,536 metric tons of soybean animal feed from Argentina in which Salmonella was detected. "Under no circumstances have [the shipments] been used by our farmers and [they] have not entered the food chain,” said Androulla Georgiou, head of the Agriculture Department. “The small quantities, and I want to stress this, that went to the mills and farmers, have been seized and have gone back to the importers’ warehouses which have been sealed."

European organizations launch online transportation safety database

Belgium's OVOCOM, The Netherlands' GMP+ International, France's Qualimat and Germany's QS have introduced the International Database Transport for Feed, an online database that facilitates the determination of the minimum cleaning regimen required for transportation vehicles based on their cargo.
The four companies, which together make up the International Committee for Road Transport, wanted to create a database that would allow transporters to determine the correct combination of transported product and necessary cleaning method to avoid contamination. The database currently has 3,300 products, of which 2,200 are additives, and is available in four languages: English, French, Dutch and German.

Japan corn imports drop on tainted meat concerns

Japan's corn imports may drop 5% to 15.4 million metric tons overall in 2011 as a result of concerns about radiation-tainted meat, which have curbed livestock production, according to reports.
Beef imports rose 11% after it was discovered that stores sold meat from cattle fed with hay contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Japan’s corn purchases in the first five months of 2011 fell 4.5% to 6.47 million metric tons, according to government data. Cargoes of feed corn fell 8.2% to 4.05 million metric tons.

Japan radiation-contaminated animal feed troubles spread

Nearly 1,500 cattle in nine Japanese prefectures are thought to have been fed straw contaminated with radioactive caesium as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi plant nuclear crisis, resulting in a spreading problem as the contaminated meat has been shipped throughout the country, according to reports.
Radioactive readings in the straw are at 43 times the government limit, according to local authorities. Shipments of Fukushima beef are now banned, and Tokyo has pledged to compensate farmers for losses as consumer confidence has dropped.

FDA circulates letter on feed

Daniel G. McChesney, compliance director at the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration has issued a letter regarding feed and pet food safety. The purpose of the letter is to alert the feed manufacturing industry of the need for intensified control systems to prevent future episodes of contamination. The letter makes references to mycotoxins and to Salmonella contamination, which has human health implications, and contaminants such as melamine.
The Center for Veterinary Medicine recognizes that contaminated ingredients are common to feed for a wide range of species, including swine, poultry and fish, and that feed issues parallel those associated with pet food.