No recall action after dioxins found in Irish beef (2nd Roundup)

Dec 9, 2008, 15:48 GMT

Dublin - The Irish government Tuesday decided not to recall beef and beef products despite a small number of positive dioxin tests in the wake of a pork recall that has led to massive layoffs in the meat-processing industry.

Ireland's Department of Agriculture confirmed Tuesday afternoon that tests on cattle that ate contaminated feed show the presence of dioxins in a number of cases.

Tests were carried out on 11 cattle farms following the recent pork recall and three of the farms concerned showed the levels of dioxins were two to three times the legal levels, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith told the Irish parliament.

Acting on the advice of the chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Alan Reilly, that these levels did not pose any public health concern, the government decided not to recall beef products from Irish supermarket shelves.

'I am confident based on the expertise and advice that we have received that these actions do not compromise public health,' Smith said.

The levels found in pork were 80 to 200 times the legal limit.

'Animals from those herds that tested positive will be taken out of the food and feed chain, and products from these herds will not be released onto the market,' the agriculture minister said.

The positive tests for dioxins in Irish beef come after a recall of Irish pork products Saturday dating back to September 1.

The recall followed the discovery in pork of potentially dangerous dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the source of which has been traced to feed supplied from a County Carlow food recycling plant, 100 kilometres south of Dublin.

Investigations by the police, Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency found that unlicensed oil was used at the plant to heat the feed which was supplied to nine pig farms and 38 beef farms.

Restrictions have also been placed on nine pig farms in Northern Ireland which were supplied with the feed.

A total of 6,000 jobs in the Republic of Ireland are expected to be affected by the scandal.

Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen told the Irish parliament, the Dail, that the Minister for Agriculture would be meeting with the European Commission to discuss assistance for the meat-processing industry.

He said it was 'incorrect to say that the European Union had refused support for the pork processors.'

Michael Mann, spokesman for the EU's agriculture commissioner, said Tuesday there was 'no legal basis for us to pay direct European money for compensation.'

However, Ireland would be allowed to compensate farmers using its own money with 'up to 7,500 euros (9,670 dollars) over a three-year period,' without violating the EU's strict rules on state aid, Mann said.

Alternatively, the Irish government could provide a complete refund to farmers who have had to slaughter their animals, but only if it can establish that this has been 'an exceptional occurrence,' the spokesman said.

Negotiations to facilitate the resumption of pig slaughter following the dioxin contamination were continuing Tuesday after 2,000 pig-processing plant workers were laid off temporarily as a result of the scare.

The plant owners are refusing to open the factories until the government gives them a multimillion-euro compensation package for any losses incurred.

Pork products tainted with dioxins were exported to 21 different countries from Ireland, the FSAI said.

Food valued at around 125 million euros is being destroyed in Ireland and abroad, with an estimated 100,000 pigs being culled.

Britain, the recipient of 40 per cent of Irish pork exports, has recalled all Irish pork products from supermarket shelves as has Northern Ireland, while Japan, Singapore and South Korea have suspended the import and sale of all Irish pork.

The European Commission has required the 12 European Union member states that had imported Irish pork and pork products to detain the products to check them for dioxins.

No ban was imposed, but European veterinary officers and experts on food health were monitoring the situation.

The Irish pork industry is worth 400 million euros annually with exports amounting to 250 million euros.