Tainted Irish pork may have reached 25 countries: official

Contaminated Irish pig meat may have been exported to up to 25 countries, Ireland's chief vet said Sunday, as shops at home and abroad cleared out pork products amid fears of a cancer link.
The recall involved products processed since September 1 sold in Ireland and abroad and has caused panic in the Emerald Isle, where many families would have been buying their traditional Christmas ham in the coming days.

Ireland is a major exporter of pork, with Britain by far the biggest market followed by Germany, France, Russia and Japan. Other major export destinations include Hong Kong, China and the Netherlands.

The Food Safety Authority (FSAI) said it was almost certain that the source of the contamination was industrial oil which mistakenly found its way into pig feed made at an Irish factory, which authorities did not name.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen stepped in to calm the situation, saying it was important the government took "whatever measures are necessary" to build confidence in the industry for the future.

"The problem has been located. The continuing examination and inquiries will proceed and we must take action to reinforce confidence to the public, and obviously also allow the industry to move on from this point," Cowen said.

The crisis is another blow to recession-hit Ireland, where about 5,000 people work in a pig meat industry which exported 129,000 tonnes worth 368 million euros (468 million dollars) in 2007, according to official figures.

Irish people are being told not to eat domestically-reared pork meat, bacon, pork sausages, sausage meat, gammon steaks, offal from pigs, salami, ham, sausage rolls, black pudding and white pudding.

Supermarket shelves have been cleared of Irish pork products while retailers in Britain which stock them, like Waitrose, have also pulled them as officials advise consumers not to eat Irish or Northern Irish pork.

Germany said it was taking all Irish pork products off the shelves as a precautionary measure, contaminated Irish pork has been found in France and Belgium, and Swedish authorities advised consumers to avoid products containing Irish pork until further notice.

The European Commission announced it was closely monitoring the situation, saying experts from countries that may have received tainted pork shipments would meet on Tuesday.

Dioxins are toxic chemicals that can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, if there is long-term exposure to them at high levels.

FSAI deputy chief executive Alan Reilly said dioxin levels found in meat samples were between 80 and 200 times above the legal limit but stressed the risk to the public was "very, very low".

"You would have to be eating products containing these chemicals for 40 years before you would show any signs of illness," he said.

Padraig Walshe, president of the Irish Farmers' Association, said the recall was an "absolute disaster" in the run-up to Christmas, adding the contamination could cost Irish farmers hundreds of millions of euros.

"It is going to be very difficult for the industry to get itself re-established and get customers to buy output again," Walshe told RTE. "It is a huge blow to the industry."

The contaminated feed was supplied to 10 Irish farms which supply roughly 10 percent of Ireland's pigs. Nine farms in Northern Ireland have also used the contaminated feed.

Rhodri Evans, FSAI chief toxicology specialist, told AFP that the source of the contamination was "possibly" oil at a plant in Ireland that used recycled bread and dough to make pig feed.