Dioxin-tainted meat exported by Iceland

By Rory Harrington

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Meat Nutrition

Iceland has confirmed that meat with higher than allowed levels of dioxins have been put onto its domestic market and exported abroad - but said there was no immediate hazard to human health.

The country’s Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) told FoodProductionDaily.com today an investigation has been launched and it was preparing to make a report to the European Commission via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

The body also said it had detected two samples of milk contaminated with levels of the toxic chemical. Concerns were first raised about tainted product before Christmas when elevated dioxin levels were detected in one of six samples.

MAST said tests had confirmed the problem some six weeks later on 4 February. It is suspected the contamination occurred as a result of burning from a waste disposal facility.

The majority of tainted product is lamb and frozen beef.

"Measurements show that a small part of 6.5 tonnes of meat that was put on the market had high levels of dioxin,"​ said a statement from the authority. "Of those 6.5 tonnes, 5.0 five tonnes of meat were exported.”

The body said "it is considered very unlikely that the meat and milk that potentially had high levels of dioxin and were sold to the public will have serious health effects on people."

A livestock plant also announced it was recalling frozen lamb due to possible dioxin contamination, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).

German dioxin

The incident in Iceland comes just weeks after dioxin-contaminated animal feed in Germany led to temporary closure of thousands of farms and a ban on the sale of their pork and eggs.

The episode was sparked when fatty acids meant to be used for technical purposes such as paper processing, were incorrectly mixed with vegetable feed fat. These fatty acids were contaminated with dioxins which were than used in the production of the animal feed.

The crisis led to German authorities toughening up regulatory oversight on dioxins, including the tabling of rules to ensure a separation in fats for industrial and feed end-users. The European Commission is thought to be considering the adopting of similar rules.

Related topics Regulation Europe Safety Fats

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