Agriculture ministers to demand investigation and tighter regulations

EU AGRICULTURE ministers are expected to call for an investigation and for laws to be tightened following the discovery of dioxins in Irish pork.

Strict rules to prevent the potentially dangerous dioxins getting into the human food chain, especially through animal feed, were drawn up nine years ago when the chemicals were discovered in Belgian chickens.

At that time all goods throughout the world that could contain traces of chicken or eggs from Belgium were withdrawn and many Belgian firms went out of business.

Health and agriculture ministers were forced to resign after revealing they had been tipped off about the contamination weeks before they took action and alerted their consumers and fellow EU member states.

Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness said the strict rules drawn up after this scandal should have ensured there was no repeat of dioxins finding their way into animal feed.

“We need the Department of Agriculture to clarify how the contamination occurred in a licensed animal feed facility. We need to know the source of the PCBs and how, in such a licensed facility, a glaring breach of the rules could occur,” she said.

EU veterinary experts are expected to discuss the latest scandal at their meeting this week, while it will be on the agenda for the agricultural ministers in Brussels on Thursday week.

Ms McGuinness, who is on the Parliament’s agricultural committee, recalled that following the 1999 Belgian scandal EU legislation on the manufacture of animal feeds was totally overhauled.

“In Belgium during the 1999 food scandal I saw how industrial waste oils were collected from waste recycling parks and incorporated into animal feed.

“It was a shocking practice which was addressed in subsequent legislation, requiring animal feed manufacturers to be aware of the source and quality of all ingredients used in animal feed production. This latest scare points to a weakness in the system which must be plugged.

“Above all, it highlights the fragility of our food production systems, how contamination of food can occur and the terrible consequences for both consumers and the industry.”

She added that while the testing and monitoring system allowed the problem to be traced swiftly back to a small number of farms, the subsequent withdrawal of all pig meat products has serious implications for farmers, the food industry and consumer confidence.