EU food body says no threat from pork

ANYONE eating a normal amount of Irish pork over the past three months will suffer no ill-effects from the dioxin contamination, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The assessment, welcomed by the Department of Agriculture, coincided with that of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). It was discussed by the chief veterinary officers from all EU countries at their meeting in Brussels yesterday when they agreed no further action was necessary.

The European Commission asked EFSA, an independent body set up by the EU and based in Italy, to scientifically assess the risk contaminated Irish pork posed to consumers as a matter of urgency.

They took into account that about 6%-7% of Irish pork was affected and based their calculations on the highest recorded concentration of dioxins found in the samples.

The report was based on the 90 days the contaminated meat was available. The EFSA strongly indicated there would be no concerns for anyone who had eaten an average amount of pork meats since September.

However, if a consumer has eaten big quantities of pork every day for the past 90 days — all of which was highly contaminated — they would have got more than what was considered a safe quantity of dioxin. But the report said: “EFSA considers that this unlikely scenario would reduce protection, but not necessarily lead to adverse health effects.”

A statement from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said the report confirmed their findings earlier this week.

Deputy chief executive of FSAI Alan Reilly said the statement would reassure consumers there was no cause for concern and any risk to health was extremely low.

Meanwhile, the EFSA report was widely welcomed.

Fine Gael agriculture and food spokesman Michael Creed said it would reassure the general public about the safety of Irish pork.

He said it was also good to hear that product which had been certified as safe and not originating from the farms affected by the contamination is beginning to return to the shops.

However, this is a limited supply and the restoration of consumer confidence and demand must be met by the resumption of pork processing, he said.

Labour Party spokesman Sean Sherlock TD said the EFSA announcement was a significant response which should send a positive message, both to the domestic and export market. “We now need a strong political response to this news, as it brings us one step closer to completely allaying the fears of Irish consumers.”