Dioxin-Contaminated Maize Hits Organic Egg Market
NETHERLANDS & GERMANY - The German authorities have found dioxins in organic eggs in nine federal states. The source has been identified as maize from the Ukraine, which was used by a Dutch feed compounder and then exported to German producers.
13 May 2010
3 minute read
Deutsche Welle reports that dioxins have been found in organic eggs in several states in Germany as the result of contaminated maize from the Ukraine. The Ministry of Consumer Protection says there is no danger to public health.
The scandal of dioxin-contaminated maize is spreading across Germany. Already, dioxins have been found in organic eggs and feed in nine German states. The department for consumer protection in North Rhine-Westphalia identified the source as maize from the Ukraine, which was delivered to a Dutch feed company in January and subsequently delivered to farms across Germany.
Many retailers are reported to have removed eggs from their shelves as a precaution. By 7 May, there were no organic eggs available in the states of Lower Saxony, North-Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, and subsequently, the move also covered Saxony-Anhalt, Hessen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein und Baden-Württemberg, according to Bielefeld's Westfalenblatt.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Consumer Protection confirmed in Berlin on 8 May that the dioxin-contaminated maize from the Ukraine had been delivered to farms in nine German states. She confirmed that there is no immediate danger to public health. However, retail chains – including supermarkets Lidl and Rewe – have removed affected batches of eggs from sale.
According to the North Rhine-Westphalian department for nature, the environment and consumer protection and the consumer protection ministry in Lower Saxony, other companies have also removed affected products from their shelves.
The report in Deutsche Welle concludes that the Dutch government must take responsibility for explaining how the contaminated grain reached the Netherlands and how it became contaminated. The demand was made by Gert Hahne, spokesman for the agriculture ministry of Lower Saxony, according to news agency, DAPD on 8 May.
The scandal of dioxin-contaminated maize is spreading across Germany. Already, dioxins have been found in organic eggs and feed in nine German states. The department for consumer protection in North Rhine-Westphalia identified the source as maize from the Ukraine, which was delivered to a Dutch feed company in January and subsequently delivered to farms across Germany.
Many retailers are reported to have removed eggs from their shelves as a precaution. By 7 May, there were no organic eggs available in the states of Lower Saxony, North-Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, and subsequently, the move also covered Saxony-Anhalt, Hessen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein und Baden-Württemberg, according to Bielefeld's Westfalenblatt.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Consumer Protection confirmed in Berlin on 8 May that the dioxin-contaminated maize from the Ukraine had been delivered to farms in nine German states. She confirmed that there is no immediate danger to public health. However, retail chains – including supermarkets Lidl and Rewe – have removed affected batches of eggs from sale.
According to the North Rhine-Westphalian department for nature, the environment and consumer protection and the consumer protection ministry in Lower Saxony, other companies have also removed affected products from their shelves.
The report in Deutsche Welle concludes that the Dutch government must take responsibility for explaining how the contaminated grain reached the Netherlands and how it became contaminated. The demand was made by Gert Hahne, spokesman for the agriculture ministry of Lower Saxony, according to news agency, DAPD on 8 May.
