South Korea stops imports of German meat over health concerns

South Korea is preventing imports of German pork and poultry products from reaching consumers because of concerns over a cancer-causing chemical.

The Seoul government said today that authorities have temporarily suspended all quarantine inspections of the products as a precaution following reports that potentially dangerous levels of dioxin were discovered in eggs, pork and poultry products in Germany.

The government said the measure – which is not a formal import ban – began on Wednesday and will be in place until the safety of German pork and poultry products is secured.

Dioxins are contaminants that typically result from industrial combustion and other chemical processes. Exposure to dioxins at high levels is linked to increased incidence of cancer.