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January 10, 2011

Dioxin scandal: Nearly 3,000 farms released

The state of Lower Saxony in Germany today has released just under 3,000 farms that were locked because they were suspected to have been supplied with dioxin contaminated feed. The Ministry of Agriculture of Lower Saxony in Hanover said in a statement it had managed to identify the companies, "which food products to the current knowledge, do not pose a risk to the consumer."

Of the first of about 4,400 farms that have been locked "1,470 establishments remain closed." The Ministry will continue working on it and "clarify the situation for the not yet released companies as quickly as possible." At the height of the scandal nationwide in Germany more than 4,700 companies had been locked, the vast majority of them located in Lower Saxony.

For the contamination of animal feed with dioxin residues Schleswig-Holstein fat supplier Harles and Jentzsch is thought to be responsible. The company is suspected of mixing cheap technical fats into more expensive dietary fats for use in animal feeds. New dioxin findings always fuel the debate over consumer protection in Germany. Increasingly, the responsibility of the federal government comes into focus.

In the current dioxin scandal Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner, demanded a crackdown against criminal food manufacturers. “It cannot be denied that here a strong suspicion of criminal activity is paired with startling lack of scruples," she said. A few" black sheep” had caused enormous damage. Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.

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