Dioxin feed: NRW blocks 3 courtyards

Minister Bärbel Höhn: Three farms closed as a precaution because of suspected dioxin-containing feed - meat of the affected animals is examined

Three farms in North Rhine-Westphalia were closed on Wednesday evening as a precaution. The reason for this was the findings of the Dutch authorities that these companies had purchased animal feed contaminated with dioxin from the Netherlands. The three farms are bull fattening farms with a total of 2.000 animals. Until the investigations have been completed by the North Rhine-Westphalian authorities, no cattle may be taken from these farms and sold.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Agriculture was informed early in the evening via the EU rapid warning system that the Dutch authorities yesterday closed 140 farms in the Netherlands as a precautionary measure that used to purchase animal feed made from leftover potatoes. These leftover potatoes come from a French fries manufacturer's production facility. Since the beginning of August 2004, this company has been using kaolinite clay, which comes from a Rhineland-Palatinate company, as a separation aid for sorting potatoes. The Dutch inspectors determined a dioxin contamination of 910 nanograms per kilogram of bran. The permitted limit for kaolinite clay is 0,75 nanograms per kilogram. The Dutch authorities got on the trail of feed contamination when they found inadmissibly high dioxin levels in the milk of a producer.

Consumer Protection Minister Bärbel Höhn: "We acted immediately on the same evening when we received the news and had the three companies from North Rhine-Westphalia that the Netherlands found on the delivery lists blocked as a precautionary measure. The meat of the animals fed with dioxin-contaminated feed must now be examined to determine how badly the beef may be contaminated. We will work as closely as possible with the Netherlands and coordinate our measures together. I immediately arranged to clarify how it is possible for kaolinite clay from Rhineland to be available again. Palatinate appears in animal feed, even though the Rhineland-Palatinate authorities banned kaolinite clay in animal feed after a similar scandal a few years ago."

Source: Dusseldorf [ munlv ]