Dioxin eggs could have entered the market

Ministry: Contaminated eggs have apparently entered the market

06/04/2012

After the dioxin-egg finding, the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer protection ministry fears that contaminated chicken eggs could have entered the sales trade despite all warnings. Therefore, a Ministry spokesman renewed according to previous warning messages. Due to labeling errors, dioxin eggs may have entered the supermarkets.

As it became known, the farm had contrary to first indications, even more distribution channels. "There is a strong suspicion that the production company in Stemwede had contrary to first statements further operating routes," said the ministry. However, there is currently no direct health risk for consumers. Meanwhile, investigations are continuing to locate the source of dioxin contamination.

Many eggs with dioxin could have come on the market
It was first said that since the seventh of March, no eggs had been distributed to the growers in East Westphalia. But the farm revoked previous information, as the ministry announced. Therefore, due to a labeling error, it was sent after 7 March. For this reason, further auditors have now been sent to the company to confiscate all documents and identify additional distribution channels.
Other farms in Duisburg affected

In addition to the organic farm in Stemwede, two direct sellers in Duisburg are closed due to a finding with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) contaminated eggs. According to the Ministry, the farms are the "AWO Ingenhammshof" with 150 chickens and an organic farm with 120 laying hens. However, both farms are significantly smaller than the large farm in East Westphalia, where about 23,000 eggs are produced every day.

Which eggs are affected?
The consumer protection centers advise against eating Bioeier with the stamp number 0-DE-0521041. The eggs from the second farm bear the stamp number 0-DE-0521991. However, the last locked producer does not use numbers so that a subsequent check can not take place.

Consumption of dioxin eggs with long-term health effects
Although the Ministry of Consumer Protection stresses that „with a short-term consumption“ When eggs with dioxin pose no health risk, it is generally accepted that even small doses are carcinogenic and highly toxic. Dioxin settles in the adipose tissue and is therefore a long-term danger. This means that repeated consumption can lead to health problems from a scientific point of view. Disturbances of the immune system, the nervous system and the hormone balance in animal experiments have been proven as long-term effects. Even inflammatory skin diseases and liver damage are possible. It is commonly believed that there is no acute risk with low intake of dioxin-contaminated eggs. According to experts of the consumer protection center NRW can only one „Medium to long-term consumption for damage to health“ to lead.

Feed is so far unencumbered
Until further notice, the large company in Stemwede should remain closed. Dioxin-contaminated eggs were first discovered this past Tuesday. Repeated analysis of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) contaminated eggs has still been found to exceed the legal maximum, a district spokesman said in the evening. Still looking for the actual causes. The feeds did not show any increased burden.

There are currently no indications that the PCB contamination of the three companies originates from the same source, as the ministry emphasized. So all growers would receive the feed from different traders. The feed for the large organic farm comes from the state of Lower Saxony. Several samples have already been taken from feed manufacturers, but they have all been negative so far. Now the investigators want to investigate whether the chickens have absorbed the dioxin by continually scraping the soil. A farm in Duisburg could have been polluted by a neighboring industrial company due to pollutant emissions. „But that is so far only a guess“, said a spokesman.

Ministry criticizes administration
The consumer ministry criticized in a statement the too slow acting of the city administration Duisburg. It can not be explained why the growers were not closed on 20 March after a check on the increased dioxin levels. The administration countered that they had initially wanted to await the results of another trial. In addition, both farms did not produce more than 110 eggs per day. Therefore, the sales volume was low overall. (Sb)

Also read:
Health risk from dioxin eggs
Blood test for dioxin does not make sense

Picture: Gerd Altmann / myself