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German state finds dioxin in eggs, sees no danger
HAMBURG |
HAMBURG (Reuters) - German authorities said on Wednesday the highly poisonous chemical dioxin had been discovered above permitted levels in eggs from a German farm but they see no danger to the public.
Dioxin content of three to six times permitted levels were discovered by routine tests on a farm in the central German state of North Rhine Westphalia, the state agriculture ministry said. The farm has been sealed off and is not permitted to sell more eggs, the state ministry said.
How the dioxin came into the eggs is unclear and intensive investigations are underway, the ministry added. Tests had shown no contamination of animal feed at the farm.
In January 2011, an EU-wide health alert was issued when German officials said animal feed tainted with highly poisonous dioxin had been fed to hens and pigs, contaminating eggs, poultry meat and pork at the affected farms.
Germany then introduced a series of new measures including tough restrictions on animal feed ingredients.
Dioxin presents a danger to health if consumed over long periods.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan; Editing by Alison Birrane)
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No one makes dioxin on purpose. Historically, incinerators, the manufacture of certain herbicides, pulp and paper bleaching were among the largest industrial sources of dioxin.
The chemical 2,3,7,8 –TCDD belonging to the dioxin family of chemicals has the reputation of being labeled ‘the most toxic chemical on Earth’.
A large historical study of workers showed increased rates of cancer, possibly from dioxin.
Initial lab tests on a variety of animals showed dioxin to be a lethal carcinogen. It was, for instance a thousand times more poisonous to guinea pigs than arsenic. It also gained some notoriety when in 1997, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) a part of the WHO, classed 2,3,7,8-TCDD as a group 1 carcinogen meaning that it was a known human carcinogen. Also a recent study carried out in July 2002 has linked dioxin with an increased incidence of breast cancer. (silent-spring.com)
So the dioxin in the eggs can be in the soil of this chicken farm, or in the air from chemical companies or factories. They should see what chemical companies or factories are near this farm and conduct soil test at the farm.
To say dioxin is not harmful is to not face reality. They also said DDT was not harmful.
To Your Good Health
John
REF:
1. Assessment of the Health Risk of Dioxins: Re-Evaluation of the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI), Executive Summary, World Health Organization, 1998.
2. Questions and Answers About Dioxins, Interagency Working Group on Dioxin (representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy), October 2004.
3. dioxinfacts.org
4. Search in any search engine for Dangers of Dioxin
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