Brussels, 31/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 30 January, Belgian authorities announced that they had found the source of the dioxin contamination of farm animal feeds in Belgium and the Netherlands, and considered that currently there was “no immediate danger” to public health (see EUROPE 9120). The European Commission indicated that the Belgian authorities were in the process of identifying products on the market which could have been contaminated and would be removed from sale.
The Belgian Federal Agency for Food Chain Safety (AFSCA) has begun an enquiry after being informed by Dutch authorities of excessive levels of dioxin in animal feeds containing pork fat which had been bought in Belgium. The Belgian agency first carried out investigations on the Flemish pork fat processing company, Profat (formerly called Verkest), which had been at the source of 1999 dioxin contamination, then its gelatine supplier, PB Gelatins. To separate the fat from the bone during the production process, PB Gelatins use hydrochloric acid (HC1), a substance known to produce dioxin. These dioxins are, in principle, removed through the use of filters. However, according to the Belgian agency, two filters used by PB Gelatins' HC1 supplier, the Belgian chemical group, Tessenderlo Chemie, had failed to work properly over a period of several weeks in October. AFSCA experts do not believe, however, that there is any immediate risk to public health since the usual consumption of the gelatine in question represents less than 25% of the recommended maximum daily dose of dioxin. With the source of the contamination now confined, the Belgian authorities will be able to determine exactly the spread of the dioxins, stressed the agency.
396 Belgian pig and poultry farms which bought animal feeds from any of the five producers, who themselves were supplied with contaminated fat by Profat, are being carefully monitored. The Netherlands and Germany have halted production respectively in 275 and 7 farms, which could have taken delivery of contaminated animal feeds.