News
German dioxin case expands
Charges have been reportedly been filed against the feed company at the center of that dioxin contamination problem in Germany. While executives at Harles & Jentzsch say they were not aware that the byproducts they were using for animal feed were contaminated, officials say a private laboratory found double the acceptable level of dioxin in sample taken from the plant last March.
The problem first showed up in contaminated eggs in late December and more than 1,000 farms were quarantined. That has now expanded to more than 4,700 farms cut-off from selling products as authorities say up to 150,000 tons of contaminated feed may have been fed to poultry and hogs in the country. The feed has been linked to Harles & Jentzsch who used byproducts from biofuels production in the mix, the company says they thought the byproducts were safe to use.
While most of the contaminated eggs have stayed within Germany some did go to the Netherlands and then on to Britain in a pasteurized product to be used in pastries and mayonnaise. Slovakia has halted sales of German poultry products pending tests by Agriculture Ministry veterinarians. South Korea has also cut off German imports. No illnesses have been reported from the contamination. Officials say while the dioxin levels exceed legal limits, they are not high enough to pose a danger to consumers.
Ok, so they say. “We weren’t aware of byproducts.” But what about people suffering because of their carelesness? Yeah, of course officials say the amount is not dangerous, but I don’t buy it – it still is dangerous.