German farms test negative for dioxin, still closed
GERMANY - Tests on five farms in Germany put under quarantine because of fears pig feed was contaminated with the carcinogen dioxin have proved negative, but the farms remain sealed off, authorities said on Tuesday.Officials in the states of Brandenburg, Thueringen and North Rhine-Westphalia said tests on the feed showed no unusually high levels of contamination with dioxin, a chemical widely used in industrial processes.
The German farms were among 650, most of them in Belgium and the Netherlands, sealed off last week because of fears that Belgian-made animal feed contained high levels of the dangerous chemical dioxin.
Food safety officials have said the contamination came from a gelatine-making process at Belgian firm PB Gelatins. Shares in Belgian chemical firm Tessenderlo, which owns PB Gelatins, fell last week on the dioxin news.
The German states said the farms would remain under quarantine for additional tests including examination of slaughtered animals.
Feed also is being tested for animal fat, which is banned in German feed.
Source: Herald News Daily
8 February 2006
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