January 7, 2011

expert reaction to dioxin found in eggs from German farms

Food was withdrawn from supermarket shelves as a precautionary measure after it was found that they contained eggs contaminated with dioxins.

Prof Alan Boobis, Experimental Medicine and Toxicology, Imperial College London, said:

“It is extremely unlikely that there is any risk here. The dioxins have been diluted by mixing with non-contaminated eggs and as long as the contaminated food is identified in the food chain and removed in reasonable time there is really no risk to human health.”

Prof Chris Elliott, Chair of Food safety at Queens University, said:

“From the limited information I have seen I understand that in common with many food safety incidents the cause is contamination of animal feed. Animals consume the contaminated feed and that’s how it gets into the food chain. The reality is that these dioxins are very difficult to test for and very extensive and that is the reason we get repeated incidents because it’s extremely difficult for companies to monitor.

“The concentrations detected in this case are above the legal tolerance limits – but only just. That tells you that the potential risk of harm from these eggs is very low. For the products consumed in the UK the risk is even lower because the contaminated eggs have been diluted with non contaminated eggs.

“My final point would be that one of the big problems we now have is that food is now a global commodity and heavily traded yet the traceability systems we have are still not fit for purpose.””