This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7770164.stm
The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Food body says 'avoid Irish pork' | Food body says 'avoid Irish pork' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Pork from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland should not be eaten at the moment due to contamination fears, the Food Standards Agency has said. | Pork from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland should not be eaten at the moment due to contamination fears, the Food Standards Agency has said. |
| The advice follows the Irish government's recall of pork products made in the Republic since September. | The advice follows the Irish government's recall of pork products made in the Republic since September. |
| Dioxins were found in pigs thought to have eaten contaminated feed on 56 farms - nine in Northern Ireland. | |
| The UK's Food Standards Agency said it did not believe at this stage that UK consumers faced any "significant risk". | The UK's Food Standards Agency said it did not believe at this stage that UK consumers faced any "significant risk". |
| The FSA said: "Adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods." | The FSA said: "Adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods." |
| Tests on the slaughtered Irish pigs showed some pork products contained up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safety limit. class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7769893.stm">Q&A: The recall of Irish pork | |
| Food safety expert Professor Hugh Pennington told the BBC the health risk was "very, very low". | Food safety expert Professor Hugh Pennington told the BBC the health risk was "very, very low". |
| He said: "You have to have a lot of these compounds. You have to eat a lot of them, enormous amounts to have any visible effect." | He said: "You have to have a lot of these compounds. You have to eat a lot of them, enormous amounts to have any visible effect." |
| But consumers and retailers have been warned to destroy all Irish pork and bacon products bought since 1 September as a precaution. | But consumers and retailers have been warned to destroy all Irish pork and bacon products bought since 1 September as a precaution. |
| Bacon, ham, sausages, white pudding and pizzas with ham toppings are also included in the withdrawal of stocks. | |
| A spokesman for discount supermarket Lidl said half of its stores had removed "own-brand" black pudding and pork belly products sourced from the Irish Republic from their shelves. | A spokesman for discount supermarket Lidl said half of its stores had removed "own-brand" black pudding and pork belly products sourced from the Irish Republic from their shelves. |
| He added that half of Lidl's stores had stocked these products and refunds are being offered to people who had bought the products. | He added that half of Lidl's stores had stocked these products and refunds are being offered to people who had bought the products. |
| Tesco said it sourced some products from Northern Ireland, which it is removing while it awaits further advice. | Tesco said it sourced some products from Northern Ireland, which it is removing while it awaits further advice. |
| Other supermarkets contacted by BBC News said they were continuing to check their supplies but many believed they did not stock pork products imported from the Republic of Ireland. | Other supermarkets contacted by BBC News said they were continuing to check their supplies but many believed they did not stock pork products imported from the Republic of Ireland. |
| Banned substance | Banned substance |
| Dioxins are formed during combustion processes, such as waste incineration, and during some industrial processes. | Dioxins are formed during combustion processes, such as waste incineration, and during some industrial processes. |
| Suspicions over contamination were first raised on Monday as a result of the routine testing of pigs, which indicated the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - banned in the Irish Republic since the 1970s - in animal feed. | Suspicions over contamination were first raised on Monday as a result of the routine testing of pigs, which indicated the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - banned in the Irish Republic since the 1970s - in animal feed. |
| Restrictions were placed on a number of pig farms and tests on pork samples confirmed the presence of dioxins on Saturday afternoon. | Restrictions were placed on a number of pig farms and tests on pork samples confirmed the presence of dioxins on Saturday afternoon. |
| Chronic long-term exposure to dioxins can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, but Irish officials said the recall would ensure consumers only had minimum exposure to it. | Chronic long-term exposure to dioxins can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, but Irish officials said the recall would ensure consumers only had minimum exposure to it. |
| The country's chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said anyone who had eaten pig meat did not need to seek medical help. | |
| The source of the contamination is believed to be a licensed mill which manufactures animal feed. | |
| The Irish minister for agriculture, Brendan Smith, said the problem in the Republic was confined to 47 farms. | |
| He said: "This includes 38 beef farms. This is the total number of farms identified as having received possible contaminated animal feed. There is only one feed supplier involved." | |
| The FSAI's chief executive Alan Reilly said: "The levels in the feed were very high. The levels in the pork itself were in the region of about 80-200 times above the safe limits." | |
| 'Absolute disaster' | |
| Labour Party spokesman on agriculture and food, Sean Sherlock, said the government's priority had to be consumers, but action had to be taken to "save the Christmas pork and ham market". | |
| He said: "The announcement amounts to a threat to the overall viability of our food industry as great as, if not greater than, the outbreaks of BSE and of foot and mouth." | |
| Padraig Walshe, president of the Irish Farmers' Association, described the recall as "an absolute disaster" for the pig farming sector, but said fewer than 10% of products on the market had been processed since 1 September. | |
| "It will be possible to have fresh product - and totally safe product - on the shelves within a couple of days," he said. | |
| Mr Walshe said up to 70% of Irish pork was consumed within the country itself - "a larger proportion" of the rest goes to the UK. | |
| The British Pig Executive said that between April-July this year, the UK imported 230,000 tonnes of pork and bacon, with up to 15,000 of those from the Republic of Ireland. | |
| Are you a pig farmer in the Republic of Ireland or employed in the country's pork industry? Please send your comment using the form below: | |