February 12, 2007

 

Elevated dioxin levels found in Canadian milk farm

 

 

Milk elevated with dioxin levels found at two Fraser Valley diary farms in Canada have prompted a province-wide order to change how feed is stored in farms with bins made of pressure-treated wood.

 

The B C Milk Producers Association sent registered letters this week to every dairy farmer in British Columbia demanding that farmers report all feed storage bunkers made from lumber treated with wood preservatives such as pentachlorophenols.

 

In large quantities, pentachlorophenols and other dioxins have been linked to health problems in humans, including cancer and birth defects.

 

Farms with chemically-treated wood bunkers in use are being ordered to line them with untreated plywood and a layer of plastic to prevent future chemical leaching, said Robin Smith, executive director for the milk producers association.

 

Milk collected at that time was not immediately tested, but once the results were known, the

Canadian Food Inspection Agency and provincial government officials were alerted, he said.

 

The elevated level at the first Fraser Valley farm though small, was higher than the normal levels of 3.5 parts per trillion, said Paul Mayers, a spokesman for CFIA.

 

The second farm recorded a slightly higher dioxin levels of 4 ppt.

 

By the time the results came out, the milk had been mixed with that from other farms and sold.

 

Meanwhile, chemical analysis of the type of dioxin proved what the experts already suspected. The pressure-treated wood was to blame for the elevated levels.

 

Subsequent tests after the mitigating steps were taken to separate the feed from the wood showed the dioxin levels had dropped to normal levels.