BRITISH EXPORT MARKET:BRITAIN'S FOOD Standards Agency (FSA) has advised consumers not to eat pork or pork products labelled as being from the Republic or Northern Ireland.
The agency issued the advice while it investigates whether any products contaminated with dioxins have been distributed in Britain.
This “precautionary advice” was issued on the heels of the government’s announcement recalling all pork products made in the Republic since September, and as it emerged that some nine farms in Northern Ireland had used the same contaminated feedstuff.
However, the FSA’s second statement yesterday repeated the earlier assurance that the agency did not believe there was “a significant risk” to UK customers “as adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods”.
While some major supermarkets checked supplies, while also signalling they did not stock pork products from the Republic, Tesco said it was removing some products sourced from Northern Ireland pending further advice.
A spokesman for discount supermarket Lidl said half of its stores had removed “own brand” black pudding and pork belly products sourced from the Republic.
As Irish farmers confronted this latest economic disaster, the British Pig Executive said the UK imported about 230,000 tons of pork and bacon between April and July of this year.
About 15,000 of that total came from the Republic.
The FSA’s “do not eat” advice extended to a range of products including sausages, bacon, salami and ham while it continued to investigate whether any products contaminated with dioxins had been “distributed in the UK”.
The statement noted: “From the information we have at this time, we do not believe there is a significant risk to UK consumers as adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods.”
It continued: “This precautionary advice has been issued following the Irish Government’s announcement that it is recalling all pork products made in the Irish Republic since September after dioxins were found in slaughtered pigs that are thought to have eaten contaminated food.
“Dioxins are chemicals that get into food from the environment and they are associated with a range of health ailments when there is long-term exposure to them at relatively high levels.”
The agency said it was “continuing to monitor the situation” and was in close contact with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
“If it is confirmed that any affected products have been distributed in the UK the agency will take appropriate action to protect consumers,” its statement concluded.
It was issued as an urgent meeting of the UK food industry was being organised as part of the FSA’s investigation into possible distribution channels “in this country”.
Food safety expert Prof Hugh Pennington told the BBC he believed the health risk to consumers was low.
“You have to have a lot of these compounds. You have to eat a lot of them, enormous amounts to have any visible effect,” he said.