February 6, 2006

Dutch pork in Taiwan safe, despite import ban
 

Taiwan's government said Sunday that Dutch pork already shipped to the island is safe to eat, despite the its ban on pork products from the Netherlands due to fears of dioxin contamination.

Taiwan Friday banned the import and sale of pork from the Netherlands until it can explain how traces of the carcinogenic chemical dioxin got into its animal feed.

Taiwanese authorities have since tracked down 293 tonnes of pork and related food products imported from the Netherlands before the ban, the Health Department said in a statement.

The pork and meat products were produced before the feed contamination occurred and are therefore safe for consumption, said the Health Department.

The dioxin found in pig feed from the Netherlands last week has been traced to a vat of pork fat from Belgium. Fat is sometimes used as an ingredient in livestock food.

Belgium's food safety agency said tainted hydrochloric acid, sometimes used in making animal feed, was the likely source of the dioxin contamination.

Belgian, Dutch and German authorities have closed hundreds of farms over the past week due to contamination fears.

Dioxin accumulates in the body and has been linked to cancer, birth defects and organ failure.