Sunday, January 09, 2011

Germany halts poultry, pork, egg sales in scare

Germany halted sales of poultry, pork and eggs from more than 4,700 farms Friday after animal feed was found to be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. As German authorities sought the source of the tainted feed, other nations rushed to figure out if any other food was contaminated.South Korea and Slovakia on Friday banned the sale of some animal products imported from Germany, while authorities in Britain and the Netherlands were investigating whether products containing German eggs — like mayonnaise — were safe to eat. Prosecutors in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein have launched an investigation into the German firm Harles & Jentzsch GmbH on suspicion that it knew of possible dioxin traces but failed to alert authorities. Test results released Friday on animal feed produced by the company showed it contained more than 77 times the approved amount of dioxin.
The scandal broke after regular random testing revealed excessive dioxin levels in eggs from chickens in the west of the country earlier this week. More than 8,000 chickens were ordered slaughtered, and tainted food fears spread to Germany's famous pork. Germany's Agriculture Ministry said Friday it had no immediate reports of health problems connected to the contaminated food, but it was stopping the sale of products from certain farms as a precaution until more tests can be carried out. About 1 percent of the country's farms have been affected...more

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