Gardaí investigate source of contaminated pork

Gardaí are now involved in the investigation into the source of contaminated pork products which saw a dramatic recall of all Irish pork products on Saturday.

A spokesman told The Irish Times this morning it was too early to say whether the matter would become a criminal investigation.

An estimated 100,000 pigs will have to be destroyed because of the pigmeat crisis which has led to the recall of all Irish pork products in Ireland’s largest food scare since BSE.

The public have been told to dump or return all pork products which they purchased since September 1st last because of the risk of dioxin contamination.

It is estimated that €125 million worth of food products in home and in export markets – up to 25 countries – will have to be destroyed.

The recall followed the discovery of potentially dangerous dioxins, known as PCBs, in pigmeat. They were initially traced in an un-named meat plant in the Republic. The dioxins were contained in feed supplied from a Co Carlow food recycling plant, it emerged yesterday.

As the Government moved to ease the fears of consumers, investigations were continuing at 10 pig farms and 38 beef farms in the Republic. The contamination is likely to have a severe impact on the €7 billion Irish food industry.

It emerged yesterday contaminated feed from the Co Carlow facility, Millstream Recycling in Clohamon Mills, had also been supplied to nine farms in Northern Ireland which now have been restricted.

The investigation has found contaminated pork with dioxin levels of 80 to 200 times above the safety limits. It is being led by the Departments of Agriculture and Health, and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). The Garda Síochána are also involved.

The dramatic food recall was announced on Saturday night as the investigation into the source of the contamination, understood to be oil, was stepped up after tests at a UK laboratory in York confirmed the presence of dioxins in the pigmeat.

The crisis began, however, last month when a routine sample was taken from the meat plant. Results of further tests from cattle farms will be known later today.

Other examination of Irish products in the Netherlands, France and Belgium prompted the action by the Government in an attempt to protect consumer confidence at home and abroad.

The European Commission has called a meeting of food safety experts from Ireland and other affected EU states tomorrow to co-ordinate a Europe-wide response to the contamination of Irish pork products.

Millstream Recycling has confirmed it has been working with Department of Agriculture officials to identify the source of PCBs found in pig meal used in a number of farms in Ireland. Accepting the need for a recall, Millstream Recycling said it would be carrying out “a full investigation to establish how the company’s strict health and safety procedures and the high quality standards could possibly have been breached”.

Last night the FSAI repeated its advice to consumers not to eat any pork products. But it said people should not be alarmed or concerned in relation to the potential risks from short-term exposure to dioxins found in pork products.

Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, said a number of health studies conducted in Belgium since the dioxin scare in 1999 had not found any negative effects on the population. “From the experience in Belgium we don’t anticipate any health effects and on that basis we are reassuring people.”

Prof James Heffron, a specialist on the biochemistry of detoxification at UCC’s biochemical toxicology lab, told The Irish Times, however, the Government in his view needed to do more to reassure the public. Prof Heffron said information on the amount of dioxin found in affected meat should be released in addition to further details on the duration of exposure. “When we have this information we can relate it to World Health Organisation guidelines on acceptable levels of dioxin,” he added.

The recall led to almost 2,000 calls to the FSAI helpline yesterday. Queues formed at supermarkets as shoppers returned products for which the Government said they should receive a refund. The National Consumer Agency (NCA) said consumers were entitled to be refunded. NCA chief executive Anne Fitzgerald said: “Under legislation consumers are entitled to repair, replacement or refund of a faulty product. In the case of pork meat or other food products containing pork, consumers are entitled to a refund as a repair or replacement does not apply in this instant.

The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association called on the Government to provide an emergency compensation package so that retailers and suppliers would not be left out of pocket.