January 14, 2011
Philippines may ban poultry, livestock from Germany over dioxin scare
The Philippines may likely ban meat, poultry and livestock products from Germany on the ongoing dioxin scare in that country.
Efren C. Nuestro, director of the Bureau of Animal Industry said they have already submitted a recommendation to the Department of Agriculture. Apart from live birds, the ban will also include pork, eggs, semen, milk, gelatin and processed animal protein for feeds.
Nuestro said that the bureau has already put on hold processing and issuance of Veterinary Quarantine Clearance for such products from Germany.
Latest reports from Germany yesterday quoted authorities there as saying that pork tainted with the highly toxic chemical may have been sold in that country.
German and European Union authorities are struggling to contain a health alert which began on Jan. 3, when German officials said dioxin-tainted feed had been fed to hens and pigs, contaminating eggs and poultry meat at the affected farms.
On January 11, German authorities said dioxin had been found in pork for the first time during the alert.
The state government in the northern state of Lower Saxony confirmed on January 12 that pork from at most 100 pigs from a farm in the state which had received contaminated feed had been sold before the farm received a closedown order.
China this week also suspended imports of pork and egg products from Germany because of dioxin fears, following an earlier move by South Korea.
Dioxins are toxins formed by burning waste and through other industrial processes, which have been shown to contribute to increased cancer rates and to affect pregnant women.