January 17, 2011

Poland, Czech Republic sell tainted pork

Poland and the Czech Republic sold pork that was believed to be contaminated with dioxin in early January, according to local health authorities in eastern Germany on Thursday (Jan 13).

Meat from 35 pigs sold to a firm in Poland and to two firms in the Czech Republic was likely to have already been consumed, said the authorities in Saxony-Anhalt, where the abattoir that slaughtered the animals is located.

On Thursday (Jan 13), Japan said it had ordered importers to report all shipments of pork, poultry and eggs from Germany amid growing concerns over its dioxin scare.

The scare began last week when it emerged that a German firm may have supplied some 3,000 tonnes of fatty acids only meant for industrial uses to makers of animal feed late last year. The feed was then widely distributed.