The fallout from Europe's latest dioxin scandal

Monday, February 28, 2011

Minute levels of dioxin in livestock feed caused a massive reaction, including import bans by a number of countries on German pork, chicken, meat and eggs

by NORMAN DUNN

The tight network of livestock feed supplies in northern Europe was never more strikingly highlighted than during the first two weeks of 2011.

At the turn of the year, routine tests by one feed mill discovered higher than allowed levels of dioxin. Subsequent tests in other mills found dioxin levels in rations for cattle, swine, broilers and layers that were in a few cases many times the legal limit, although still representing just a few billionths of a gram.

Suspicion fell on crop oil that had been processed to fat and added to feed. Tracing the supply showed that the oils used, a mix from palm, soya and rapeseed, had been byproducts of biodiesel production and classified as "industrial" and not "feed." The difference? In Europe, industrial oils cost around €500, or C$640 a tonne. Feed standard oil is worth at least double this.

The system that led to the chaos at the beginning of the year was, it seems, a well-worn routine. Only a few companies are involved in buying and processing. In this case, a single agency was importing shipments of plant oil from a merchant in the Netherlands.

From there, the material was trucked to a processing centre in Germany and then delivered to 25 feed manufacturers in five German states. The resultant pellets – thought to be around 115,000 tonnes – were then freighted to many thousands of smaller feed dealerships and individual farms throughout the country.

Those handling the oils destined for feed fat are meant to conduct their own tests for impurities or contamination. Up until this scandal, processors were allowed to treat both industrial (no checks for dioxin required) and feed standard oils under the same roof.  All feed producers were also expected to sample each batch produced, but it seems that there was a long waiting list for the actual laboratory testing.

So once the news was out – and it took some days before it was finally announced – two massive reactions got underway immediately.

The political reaction resulted in Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) officials descending on some 4,700 farms nationwide and stopping milk and slaughter hog collection, and the selling of chickens or eggs. This was a clamp-down that affected 462 dairy farms in the worst hit state, Lower Saxony. Thankfully, the cow rations were mainly found to have only permitted low dioxin levels and so milk collections could recommence within two to three days.

Broilers or layers that had been destined for slaughter were destroyed and their meat not allowed in the human food chain. Hundreds of thousands of eggs were held back until tests were completed. Where dioxin content was found to be over the limit, the eggs were destroyed. As for hogs, it was thought that at least 10,000 slaughter-ready animals were affected in the state of Lower Saxony alone. Nearly seven tonnes of pig meat in one slaughterhouse in another state were confiscated and condemned.

Compensation? Farmers are being advised to sue the original supplier of the contaminated oils. But, by mid-January, no one was very sure who this was and where – or even how – the contamination occurred.

The second massive reaction featured the consumers or those caught right in the middle – the exporters and wholesalers.

South Korea immediately banned all pig meat from Germany. Slovakia in southern Europe closed its borders completely to pork, chicken meat and eggs. Russia also announced a tightening of all controls for imported meat and eggs. In Britain, where supermarkets are big importers not only of German eggs but also of a range of noodles, cakes and cookies made with these eggs, there has been a complete ban on sales. All shelves containing German-sourced eggs and associated baked products were swept into the garbage skips.

And the German consumers? By the middle of the month, a nationwide survey indicated that one in five of all consumers had decided to avoid buying eggs for the time being.

The realists were pointing out in January that problems were thought to have begun nine months beforehand. At least one sample that was positive for high dioxin content was not reported in March 2010. Millions of eggs have since been produced, shipped, bought and eaten. Experts are hoping that at least most of the contamination was minor.

On the positive side, shocks like Europe's latest dioxin scandal at least encourage the tightening-up of food and feed safety routines so that dioxin poisoning shouldn't be a risk again – in the short term. BF

Norman Dunn writes about European agriculture from Germany.