Easter with dioxin eggs from the organic farm

Contaminated dioxin eggs from Duisburg children's and organic farms

04/08/2012

In routine official inspections, North Rhine-Westphalian regulatory authorities have found the poison dioxin in two eggs producers in Duisburg in samples of chicken eggs. According to authorities, the statutory maximum amounts were exceeded many times over. The Ministry of Consumer Protection in North Rhine-Westphalia ordered the city of Duisburg to immediately close the courtyards. A direct marketer is a bio-operated farm (organic farm) with certification for around 120 laying hens for organic eggs. The second producer is a conventional farm with more than 150 laying hens acting as a children and a learning yard. Both growers market their eggs directly.

Eggs arrived despite negative test evaluations in the trade
According to the ministry, consumers are warned about eggs with the stamp number 0-DE-0521991. However, the higher readings were already in mid-March. This fact is criticized by the consumer advocates, because the egg sale continued before Easter and the egg sale was stopped only two weeks after the test result. Only then were both courts blocked. As a result, the eggs were traded and probably already eaten.

The second courtyard is a children's and learning farm. This producer has no stamp number. Only by the name of the manufacturer can be drawn in retrospect, a conclusion. According to the authorities, this is the AWO Ingenhammshof in Duisburg. The name of the court was announced by the ministry to warn consumers.

Dioxin eggs should be disposed of
Only a few days before the discovery in Duisburg, another case with increased values ​​became known. In a large farm in Ostwestfalen-Lippe, eggs were found to contain dioxin-like substance PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls). According to some tests, the concentrations exceeded the legal limit of PCB up to six times. „A connection between the three companies could not be determined so far“, informed a consumer advocate. Authorities call for not consuming already purchased eggs. The eggs of the large enterprise possess the stamp number 0-DE-0521041. „The eggs should be disposed of by the fastest route“, said the Ministry.

Clear criticism of the behavior of the city administration in Duisburg expressed the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment. „The companies should have been closed on March 20. Instead, however, they have only initiated further tests“, said a spokesman. The employees of the city administration would have „only values ​​slightly above the limit“ measured and not as „worrying“ classified. For this reason, they wanted to wait until the test evaluations of the control samples, said a spokesman for the city of Duisburg. Nevertheless, the search for the causes was started immediately. About more backgrounds is still not known.

Different measurements of loads
The exact measurements are not known until today. The country had determined its own measurements at the children's farm of the Arbeiterwohlfahrt a value of 10 picograms. That would correspond to a border crossing fourfold.

The city administration itself speaks only of a double excess. Own surveys would have detected 2.5 picograms in the eggs. „For an increased background load by the heavy industry these values ​​are too high“, such a speaker. Experience shows that most of the burden is caused by feed. However, nothing has been found in the feed so far.

The operator AWO was shocked by the results. "So far, we had no problems," said the employee Osman Apaydin to press people. The eggs are laid by free-range chickens. The distribution itself is non-commercial. "We do not know how that can be."

At the Duisburg organic farm the dioxin levels were only slightly above the prescribed limits. Here, experts suspect that the burden has been caused by the industry in the neighborhood, as it was said. Evidence for this could not yet be identified.

Bauernverband criticizes the authorities
Annoyed by the actions of the authorities showed the German Farmers Association. It could not be that „the public will only be informed when the eggs are all eaten, "criticized the spokesman of the association Johannes spark. Apparently attack the so-called ten-point plan for dioxin finds of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture not.

About a year ago, more than 1,000 growers had to be closed due to dioxin contamination. Thousands of laying hens had to be killed. At that time, the toxic substance suspected of forcing cancer and nervous disorders was found in the feed. According to the current state of knowledge, there is no connection between the events of the day and a context between the three companies. (Sb)

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Picture: wrw