From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
Irish pork crisis of 2008
The Irish pork crisis of 2008 was a dioxin contamination
incident in Ireland that led to an international recall of
pork products from Ireland produced between Septem-
ber and early December of that year.[1] It was disclosed
in early December 2008 that contaminated animal feed
supplied by one Irish manufacturer to thirty-seven beef
farms and nine pig farms across Republic of Ireland, and
eight beef farms and one dairy farm in Northern Ireland,
had caused the contamination of pork with between 80
and 200 times the EU’s recommended limit for dioxins
and dioxin-like PCBs i.e. 0.2 ng/g TEQ fat (0.2 ppb).[2] The
Food Safety Authority of Ireland moved on 6 December
to recall from the market all Irish pork products dating
from 1 September 2008 to that date. The contaminated
feed that was supplied to forty-five beef farms across the
island was judged to have caused no significant public
health risk, accordingly no recall of beef was ordered.[3]
Also affected was a dairy farm in Northern Ireland; some
milk supplies were withdrawn from circulation.
Within days thousands of jobs were either lost or un-
der threat at pig processing plants across the country, as
processors refused to resume slaughter of pigs until they
received financial compensation. Pork supplies to a to-
County Carlow (bright green) has been announced as the loca-
tal of twenty-three countries was affected, thirteen with-
tion of the source of the crisis
in the European Union and the remainder outside in an
area across at least three continents. Countries affected
include: Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Swe-
den, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia, the UK, France, Portu-
gal, Cyprus, Romania, Russia, the United States, Canada,
Switzerland, China, South Korea, Japan and Republic of
Singapore.
It is now suspected that the oil that contaminated the
offending pig feed with dioxins came from County Ty-
rone.[4] Some reports suggest the recovery of the Irish
pork market will take up to a decade.[5] The Irish gov-
ernment has been criticised over its handling of the inci-
dent.[6]
On 18 December 2008 it was disclosed that the beef
samples from the affected farms had dioxin levels be-
tween 100 and 400 times the legal limit.[7] However the
Irish authorities insisted that the threat to public health
from Irish beef products, even though the dioxin levels
were higher than in the affected pork, was insignifi-
cant.[7][8] On 25 January 2009, Chinese quarantine au-
thorities seized over 23 tonnes of frozen and contami-
nated Irish pork which was imported by a company in
the city of Suzhou in October 2008.[9] On 28 January 2009,
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture was told by
County Tyrone (bright green) has been reported as the origin
Indaver Ireland Managing Director John Ahern that Ire-
of the oil used to create the crisis.
land could "sleepwalk" into another pork crisis if the
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, continued
with his plans to commence widespread use of Mechani-
cal Biological Treatment.[10]
Pork
Background
On the evening of 6 December, the Food Safety Authority
of Ireland ordered the recall, withdrawal and destruction
of all Irish pork products dating back to 1 September.
It was announced that "dioxins & dioxin like PCBs", a
group of highly toxic synthetic halogenated organic com-
pounds, had been discovered in pork at levels between 80
and 200 times the EU’s recommended safety limits.[11][12]
This contamination, which was first realised on 1 De-
cember, came about as a result of contamination of pig
feed. The positive results for dioxins and dioxin like PCBs
were confirmed on the afternoon of 6 December and an-
nounced within hours. The Irish general public were ad-
vised to destroy all their purchased pork products as Ire-
land’s Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety
Authority had initiated an investigation.[13] Contaminat-
ed feed was used at as many as forty-six farms in the
Republic of Ireland of which thirty-seven raised cattle
for beef and nine produced pork.[14] Additionally, cont-
aminated feed was used on eight cattle farms in North-
ern Ireland.[15] Beef products, from cattle who may have
been fed contaminated feed, were judged to be safe and
were not recalled from market.[15] One cattle farm in
Northern Ireland used the feed for beef and dairy cattle,
and milk from this farm was removed from the food sup-
ply.[4]
Following the discovery, the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen
and the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,
Brendan Smith attended talks at their government’s
Department of Agriculture. Alongside them were the
Minister for Health, Mary Harney and Minister of State
(with special responsibility for Food and Horticulture),
Trevor Sargent and Minister of State (with special re-
sponsibility for Health Promotion and Food Safety), Mary
Wallace.[16] The opposition party Fine Gael’s spokesper- An illustration of the measured dioxin levels in Irish pork and
son for agriculture, Michael Creed described the discov- beef relative to the legal limit.
ery as "potentially the biggest threat to the agriculture
The smallest green circle represents the legal limit.
food sector since the outbreak of foot-and-mouth dis-
ease".[17]
The other circles’ areas are relative to the green circle and rep-
On the afternoon of 7 December, the FSAI claimed resent the lowest (80 times the legal limit) and highest (400
identification of the source as a contaminated ingredient times the legal limit) levels of dioxin found in Irish pork and
which had been added to pork feed, and said it was now beef.
considered that the profile of dioxins located is similar
to those found in electronic transformer oils.[18] On the slaughtering pigs, insisting they needed a massive finan-
evening of that same day, RTÉ, the state-run broadcaster, cial package (up to €1 billion) from the Irish government
reported that the source of the crisis was a processing to assist them with the mass recall.[19] The European
plant in County Carlow (see #Millstream Power Recycling Union maintained that there would be no funding for the
Limited). A garda investigation was launched.[14] The As- Irish pork industry in the wake of the crisis.[20] Fine Gael
sociation of Pigmeat Processors refused to continue
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
leader Enda Kenny criticised the Irish government, call- Several epidemiological studies have observed a cor-
ing the crisis "an unmitigated disaster".[21] relation between high levels of dioxins and PCBs in hu-
mans and a wide variety of adverse health effects e.g.
Affected products chloracne, lowering of IQ, dysfunction of the thyroid
Most pork products are at risk of contamination; howev- gland and reduction of thyroid hormone levels, elevated
er, pork gelatine, products containing pork gelatine such rates of endometriosis in women, higher levels of dia-
as sweets, crisps and snack foods and sauces with pork or betes in women, precocious puberty in females and sub-
ham content are not.[22] tle developmental delay in children, as evidenced by al-
tered play activity.[27] Males appear to be more sensitive
Health effects of Dioxins and PCBs to poisoning by high levels of dioxins & dioxin-like PCBs
and are more likely to develop severe symptoms e.g.
young men poisoned by TCDD (the most toxic dioxin) are
less likely to father boys.[28] See Geusau et al. (2001)[29]
who describe the clinical manifestations of two extreme-
ly severe (and probably criminal) dioxin poisoning cases.
Much of the hazard posed by dioxins and PCBs comes
from their environmental persistence and their
lipophilic nature, resulting their propensity to accumu-
late in the food chain, particularity in the fat of animals.
About 80% of human exposure to dioxins and PCBs comes
from animal derived foods e.g. poultry, beef and dairy.[25]
However, the health effects and risks of long-term, low-
level exposure to the general public cannot be observed
directly, and are highly controversial. It is not known if
the dose response relationship at low-levels of exposure
General chemical structure of PCBs (top) and dioxins (bottom)
is sub-linear or linear, or has a threshold i.e. harmless at
very low levels.[23] Risk assessments are further compli-
cated by the observation that contamination typically in-
volves a complex mixture of related chemicals, the tox-
icity of each varies and has to be factored according to
its Toxic Equivalency Factor (TEF) (where TCDD = 1). The
product of TEF is the Toxic Equivalency Quantity (TEQ),
and it is this value that is used in risk assessments (an on-
line Toxic Equivalency Quantity Calculator).
The European Union (EU) uses a linear dose response
curve at low-levels of exposure, below the point where
there are epidemiological data. In other words, the EU as-
sumes there is no safe level of dioxins and PCBs.[25] Ac-
cordingly, the European Union sets extremely stringent
limits for dioxin and dioxin like PCBs in food, set just
1 part per trillion is approximately equivalent to dispersing above the usual background levels found in various food
one-twentieth of a drop of water throughout this 50 metre categories e.g. fish, poultry, beef, pork etc. The limit set
Olympic sized swimming pool. for dioxins in pork fat and meat is 1 pg/g TEQ i.e. 1 parts
per trillion (ppt) (see swimming pool illustration). The
Dioxins[23] and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)[24] are maximum dioxin contamination measured in Irish pork
two groups of predominately man-made toxic chemicals was 0.2 ng/g TEQ fat (200 ppt),[2] equivalent to dispersing
which, when consumed, affect both the immune and re- 10 drops of TCDD throughout a 2.5 million liter Olympic
productive systems and are classified as probably car- sized swimming pool.
cinogenic by the World Health Organization and in the
United States by the National Cancer Institute and the Millstream Power Recycling Limited
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.[25] 52°38′09″N 6°37′22″W / 52.6357°N 6.6228°W / 52.6357;
The toxicity of dioxins and dioxin like PCBs is mediated -6.6228[30]
by their ability to bind strongly to the aryl hydrocarbon RTÉ News has named the company behind the contami-
cell receptor that is present in most animals.[26] nated animal feed as Millstream Power Recycling Limit-
ed, located just outside Fenagh[citation needed], County Car-
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
low in the south-east of the country. All production at employees at four plants on 8 December, telling them to
the plant was stopped in the week before the announce- sign up for state unemployment benefits.[37] Workers in
ment, when a link between it and the contaminated feed the pork industry who have been laid off in the wake of
was first suspected. A representative of the firm, David the crisis, including those from affected plants in Eden-
Curtin, denied reports of a use of industrial oil in the con- derry, Waterford and Kilkenny, were to carry out a
taminated pig feed, saying that, whilst oil is used to pow- lunchtime protest at Leinster House (government build-
er the machinery used for processing, he is not certain ings in Dublin) on 11 December. SIPTU was organising the
that this is the source of the outbreak.[31] The oil, at the demonstration citing "delays in resuming production"
firm’s insistence, was only ever purchased from "legit- and the financial "dire straits" some workers are in as
imate suppliers" within the Republic of Ireland.[32] The their reasons.[38] Processors have halted the slaughtering
owner of Millstream Power Recycling Limited was named of pigs until the Irish government promises them finan-
as Robert Hogg (43).[33] cial reparation.[39] 100,000 pigs could be slaughtered[40]
and the current estimated costs of the crisis stand at €100
The Irish pork industry million.[41]
The pork industry is the fourth biggest in Ireland’s agri-
culture sector, worth around €400 million per year to Reactions
the Irish economy. The country’s farms produce over 3
Local reactions
million pigs per annum, almost 50% of which are con-
sumed within the Republic.[34] The remainder is export- Within hours a number of local newspapers in Ireland in-
ed, heavily to the neighboring territories of Northern Ire- cluding the Longford Leader[42] and the Leitrim Observer[43]
land and Britain, but it also features in grocery stores had reproduced copies of the same Press Association ar-
and processed meats throughout two continents - Europe ticle.
and Asia. In 2007, Ireland exported 113,000 tons of pig
National reactions
meat, nearly half of which went to the United Kingdom.
Over 500,000 live pigs were also shipped to the UK for The Food Safety Authority of Ireland moved immediately
slaughter and processing in that country. Ireland’s other to reassure the general public of Ireland. Speaking on
major customers of its pork are Germany, the buyer of RTÉ Radio on the morning after the initial announce-
9,000 tons in 2007; France, Italy and several countries ment, Deputy Chief Executive of the FSAI, Alan Reilly said
within the boundaries of Eastern Europe, which together it was "necessary as a precautionary measure" to remove
purchased over 20,000 tons, Russia, the buyer of all pork products from within the country. He said he
6,600 tons, and China, which came into the ownership of "expected" pork products to be available again before the
1,100 tons.[35] busy Christmas period got underway and is scheduled to
meet government officials and retailers within hours.[44]
Irish hotels and guesthouses were immediately notified
of the unfolding situation and asked to dispose of all their
pork products by the Irish Hotels Federation.[45] Some
Tesco outlets initially only gave refunds for their own
branded pork produce but have since begun issuing re-
funds to all affected Irish products.[46] Superquinn how-
ever gave full refunds.[47] A helpline set up by the Food
Safety Authority of Ireland had received 3,000 calls with-
in 72 hours of the outbreak.[48]
International reactions
The UK’s Food Standards Agency has said it does not be-
lieve its country’s consumers face "significant risk" but
A lunchtime protest by dislocated workers was to take place on it is still awaiting confirmation from the Irish authorities
11 December outside Leinster House (above). that the affected products had not been exported to its
neighbour.[49] Chief Scientist Andrew Wadge stated on
Effects his FSA blog that because dioxins remain in the body for
approximately 30 years, exceeding regulatory limits for
Within two days of the first announcement 1,800 jobs
a few days has an "insignificant" effect on the individual
have been lost in the Irish pig industry[36] with a further
consumer. The Tolerable Daily Intake standard sets a lev-
6,000 jobs said to be at risk by Ireland’s largest trade
el that is without appreciable risk to health over a pro-
union SIPTU. Ireland’s largest pig meat processor, Ros-
longed period.[50]
derra Irish Meats Group Ltd., turned away all of its 850
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
In Asia, South Korea has banned imports and advised Return to shelves
retailers to stop selling Irish produce, Singapore is fol-
Superquinn has said it will have Irish pork, traceable to
lowing suit, whilst China has "provisionally" stopped im-
one farm in County Kilkenny on shelves by 11 December,
portation. Japan has also said it may recall Irish pork
becoming the first Irish supermarket chain to do so.[53]
products.[51]
However as early as 7pm on December 10 Irish retailer
Press Dunnes had approved Galtee ham back on shelves for
Within twelve hours of the pork recall announcement, sale.[citation needed]
the international press was carrying the story and within
thirty-six hours there were over 1,700 newspaper articles
on the crisis globally.[52] Tabloid The Sun announced the
Other affected foods
story as "Toxic Irish pork is swept off shelves" whilst the
Daily Mirror opted for "Poison pork panic: Irish pigs were
Beef
fed on plastic bags". Daily Express ran the story under Twenty one cattle farms in the Republic were discovered
the banner headline "Shoppers told: Don’t eat toxic Irish to have used the contaminated pig feed, whilst eight cat-
pork" and the Daily Mail went with the headline "British tle farms used it in Northern Ireland.[7][54] It was dis-
shoppers ’may not be able to tell whether they have Ir- closed on December 18, 2008 that beef samples from the
ish poison pork in their fridge’". The Times had the head- affected farms had dioxin levels between 100 and 400
line "Shops rush to take Irish pork off shelves", warn- times above the legal limit.[7] The Irish authorities went
ing that EU labelling laws meant pork originating in Ire- to great lengths to insist that the threat to public health
land could have been labelled as British. Le Monde had from Irish beef products, despite the extremely high
the top-five most e-mailed website headline "Dioxin alert dioxin levels, was insignificant.[7] It was noted that the
in Irish pork" and The Straits Times website had the cri- official announcement made no reference to the dioxin
sis as its second most popular story. El País reported its levels being 100 to 400 times the legal limit.[7] In a state-
concern that contaminated meat might have arrived in ment the FSAI recommended "that cattle which are
Spain via France and Portugal. The New York Times, under locked down from these 21 farms should now be slaugh-
the headline "Ireland investigating tainted pork" and The tered and not allowed enter the food chain".[55] There is
Washington Post, under the headline "Ireland recalls pork to be no public recall of Irish beef. The European Com-
products after dioxin test", covered the story in their mission is being kept informed.[56]
own short ways. AFP had the headline "Ireland scram- However, 3,000 animals from these herds have been
bles to contain pork cancer scare" and the Xinhua News slaughtered and have already entered the food chain
Agency was one of the earliest news agencies to follow since September.[57] The UK’s Food Standards Agency is
the story with headlines including "Irish police to inves- conducting tests to assess the level of dioxins present in
tigate pork contamination". CNN tagged the story as "an- Northern Irish cattle herds.[58]
other red flag being waved over dinner tables this week
with warnings from the Irish government not to eat its Milk
pork products", comparing the crisis to bovine spongi- One farm in Northern Ireland has been identified as hav-
form encephalopathy, bird flu and the 2008 Chinese milk ing fed contaminated animal feed to dairy cattle. North-
scandal.[52] ern Ireland’s Minister of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety, Michael McGimpsey has announced re-
strictions on milk supplies in the province.[59]
European Food Safety Authori-
ty’s statement
In its statement issued on the 10 December 2008, The
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) considered that
the levels of dioxin & dioxin like PCBs in Irish pork, be-
fore the contaminated pork was withdrawn, posed no
risk to health.[60] The EFSA calculated a number of dif-
ferent exposure scenarios, and they found that if a con-
sumer ate Irish pork each day over the 90 day period, 10%
An Irish supermarket six days following the outbreak of the of which was contaminated, the "increase in the Body
crisis, only offering Danish pork for sale. burden [would be] of no concern for this single event". In
the "very extreme case" of eating large amounts of 100%
5
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
contaminated Irish pork every day over the 90 day period [4] ^ McKee, Linda (2008-12-10). "Tyrone link to pork
in question, the EFSA considered that "this unlikely sce- crisis". The Belfast Telegraph.
nario would reduce protection, but not necessarily lead http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-
to adverse health effects".[61] national/tyrone-link-to--pork--
However the EFSA warns that its calculations are crisis-14101030.html. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
"Based on the very limited new data related to the cur- [5] "Drive starts to win back markets for Irish pork".
rent contamination incident of pork, which were made The Irish Times. 2008-12-12.
available to EFSA"[2] and concludes its statement with http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
the "EFSA based this statement on a limited data set".[2] 2008/1212/1229035602970.html. Retrieved
It also makes clear that its calculations assumed that ex- 2008-12-12.
posure at these high levels only began in September 2008. [6] "Frontline listeners put the pork crisis in
If it is found that the animal feed had been contaminated perspective". Evening Herald. 2008-12-12.
prior to September 2008 then it will have to reevaluate http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/
its findings.[2] The statement did not address the issue of frontline-listeners-put-the-pork-crisis-in-
contaminated beef. perspective-1573024.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
[7] ^ "Irish find high dioxin levels in beef, but no risk".
Criminal investigation Associated Press/Google. http://www.google.com/
hostednews/ap/article/
A criminal investigation commenced in December 2008 ALeqM5iiddWI0O8AIRCkoi2RhraOkScflQD955M8901.
and on the 6th of March 2010 it was reported in the Irish Retrieved 2008-12-19.
Times that a criminal prosecution will be taken in rela- [8] Beef from 21 farms withdrawn after tests for
tion to the incident.[62] dioxins
[9] "China seizes tainted Irish pork". RTÉ. 2009-01-25.
Civil case http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0125/pork.html.
Retrieved 2009-01-25.
Millstream Recycling Ltd. has taken a civil case against [10] "Ireland could ’sleepwalk’ into food crisis". RTÉ.
Mr Gerard Tierney, Newtown Park Avenue, Blackrock, 2009-01-28. http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0128/
Co Dublin and against his company Newtown Lodge Ltd, waste.html. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
Fairview, Dublin. Millstream claims its pig feed products [11] "Recall of all pork in public health alert". Irish
were contaminated by “defective” oil supplied by Mr Independent. 2008-12-06.
Gerard Tierney and his company Newtown Lodge Ltd.[63] http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/
national-news/recall-of-all-pork-in-public-health-
Past contamination incidents alert-1566236.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
[12] "Irish pork recalled over contamination fears". TV3
See also Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins Ireland. 2008-12-07. http://www.tv3.ie/
article.php?article_id=4739&locID=1.2.&pagename=news.
See also Retrieved 2008-12-07.
[13] Conor Pope (6 December 2008). "Investigation after
Pork in Ireland toxic substance found in pigs". The Irish Times.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/
References 2008/1206/breaking38.html. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
See also: "Joe O’Brien, Agriculture & Food
[1] "Ireland warns public not to eat Irish pork". AOL
Correspondent, reports that an investigation has
Australia. 2008-12-07. http://www.aol.com.au/
been launched after a toxic substance has been
news/story/Ireland-warns-public-not-to-eat-Irish-
found in slaughtered pigs". RTÉ. 2008-12-06.
pork/1405671/index.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1206/
[2] ^ Statement of EFSA on the risks for public health due to
agriculture_av.html?2459503,null,230. Retrieved
the presence of dioxins in pork from Ireland (Question
2008-12-06. and "Farm contaminant alert". Irish
No EFSA-Q-2008-777), Issued on 10 December 2008
Independent. 2008-12-06.
The EFSA Journal (2008) 911, 1 of 15
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/
[3] "Farmers urge consumers to continue buying beef -
national-news/farm-contaminant-
The Irish Times - Tue, Dec 09, 2008".
alert-1566196.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
Irishtimes.com. http://www.irishtimes.com/
[14] ^ "Irish pork contamination probed". BBC News. 8
newspaper/breaking/2008/1209/breaking67.htm.
December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Retrieved 2008-12-12.
uk_news/7770476.stm. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
6
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
[15] ^ "Contaminated feed used on eight NI cattle (5): 333–336. doi:10.1248/jhs.49.333.
farms". irishtimes.com. 2008-12-09. ISSN 1344-9702. http://jhs.pharm.or.jp/49(5)/
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/ 49_333.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
2008/1209/breaking23.html?via=rel. Retrieved [28] Mocarelli, P; P M Gerthoux, E Ferrari, D G
2008-12-10. Patterson, S M Kieszak, P Brambilla, N Vincoli, S
[16] "Recall of Irish pork over contamination fears". Signorini, P Tramacere, V Carreri, E J Sampson, W E
The Irish Times. 2008-12-06. Turner, L L Needham (2000-05-27). "Paternal
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/ concentrations of dioxin and sex ratio of
2008/1206/breaking44.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-06. offspring". Lancet 355 (9218): 1858–63. doi:10.1016/
[17] "Recall notice for Irish pork products". RTÉ. S0140-6736(00)02290-X. ISSN 0140-6736.
2008-12-06. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1206/ PMID 10866441. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
agriculture.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06. pubmed/10866441. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
[18] "FSAI moves to allay consumer fears". The Irish [29] Geusau, A; K Abraham, K Geissler, M O Sator, G
Times. 2008-12-07. http://www.irishtimes.com/ Stingl, E Tschachler (2001-08). "Severe
newspaper/breaking/2008/1207/breaking9.htm. 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)
Retrieved 2008-12-07. intoxication: clinical and laboratory effects".
[19] "Pig processors demand Government help". RTÉ. Environmental Health Perspectives 109 (8): 865–9.
2008-12-08. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1208/ doi:10.1289/ehp.01109865. ISSN 0091-6765.
pork-business.html. Retrieved 2008-12-09. JSTOR 3454832. PMC 1240417. PMID 11564625.
[20] "No EU funding for Irish pork industry". RTÉ. http://www.ehponline.org/members/2001/
2008-12-09. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1209/ 109p865-869geusau/geusau-full.html. Retrieved
pork-business.html. Retrieved 2008-12-09. 2008-12-10.
[21] "Cowen ’confident’ of pig processing agreement". [30] Wexford County Council planning file number
The Irish Times. 2008-12-10. 20040404 (accessed 2010-03-10)
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/ [31] "Firm at centre of toxin scare investigated". RTÉ.
2008/1210/breaking40.html?via=rel. Retrieved 2008-12-07. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1207/
2008-12-10. pork.html. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
[22] "Information on Irish pork recall". RTÉ. 2008-12-06. [32] "Carlow firm insists it bought oil in Republic". The
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1206/ Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
porkrecallinfo.html. Retrieved 2008-12-08. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/
[23] ^ Eaton, David L.; et al. (2006). Health Risks from 2008/1210/breaking11.html?via=rel. Retrieved
Dioxin and Related Compounds: Evaluation of the EPA 2008-12-10.
Reassessment (Report in Brief). The National [33] Mister Dioxin- The Evening Herald, Wednesday
Academies. p. 6. ISBN 0309102588. http://dels- December 10, 2008.
old.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/ [34] "Ireland Investigating Tainted Pork". New York
dioxin_brief_final.pdf. Times. 2008-12-07. http://www.nytimes.com/
[24] Faroon, Obaid M.; L. Samuel Keith; Cassandra 2008/12/07/world/europe/
Smith-Simon (2003). Polychlorinated Biphenyls: 07pork.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss. Retrieved
Human Health Aspects. World Health Organization. 2008-12-07.
p. 58. ISBN 92-4-153055-3. MON-011386. [35] "Ireland warns public not to eat Irish pork". CNBC.
http://www.who.int/entity/ipcs/publications/ 2008-12-06. http://www.cnbc.com/id/28086026.
cicad/en/cicad55.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
[25] ^ Fact Sheet on dioxin in feed and food. Europa, [36] "Battle to maintain confidence in Irish beef
Brussels, 20 July 2001. produce abroad". The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
[26] Reginald Davies; Bruce Clothier, Susan W. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
Robinson, Richard E. Edwards, Peter Greaves, JinLi 2008/1210/1228849742633.html?via=rel. Retrieved
Luo, Timothy W. Gant, Tatyana Chernova, Andrew 2008-12-10.
G. Smith (2007-12-29). "Essential Role of the AH [37] "Oil-tainted feed causes Irish pork crisis".
Receptor in the Dysfunction of Heme Metabolism Chron.com. 2008-12-08. http://www.chron.com/
Induced by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin" disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6153648.html. Retrieved
(research-article). http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/ 2008-12-08.
10.1021/ [38] "Pig industry workers to protest in Dublin over
tx700176r?cookieSet=1&journalCode=crtoec. pork crisis". The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
Retrieved 2008-12-13. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/
[27] Masuda, Y (2003). "Health Effect of Polychlorinated 2008/1210/breaking10.html?via=rel. Retrieved
Biphenyls and Related Compounds". J Health Sci 49 2008-12-10.
7
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
[39] "1,400 laid off after pork recall". RTÉ. 2008-12-08. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1208/pork.html. 2008/1208/breaking55.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
Retrieved 2008-12-08. [53] "Superquinn to reintroduce Irish pork products".
[40] "Oil-tainted feed causes Irish pork crisis". The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
Associated Press. 2008-12-08. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ 2008/1210/1228849742627.html. Retrieved
ALeqM5hn8dQ7aGiM9koU3wZO58_ZWih4VAD94UHHOO0. 2008-12-10.
Retrieved 2008-12-08. [54] "Contaminated feed used on eight NI cattle farms".
[41] "Irish Pig Producers Face EU100 Million Recall Bill The Irish Times. 2008-12-09.
(Update2)". Bloomberg.com. 2008-12-08. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ 2008/1209/breaking23.html?via=rel. Retrieved
news?pid=20601102&sid=aA7uzN7I6cQ4&refer=uk. 2008-12-09.
Retrieved 2008-12-08. [55] "FSAI Updates on Dioxin Tests, 18 December 2008".
[42] "All Irish pork recalled". Longford Leader. Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
2008-12-07. http://www.longfordleader.ie/latest- http://www.fsai.ie/news/press/pr_08/
irish-news/All-Irish-pork-recalled.4769236.jp. pr20081218.asp. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
Retrieved 2008-12-07. [56] "Dioxin tests on beef ’positive’". RTÉ. 2008-12-09.
[43] "All Irish pork recalled". Leitrim Observer. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1209/pork.html.
2008-12-07. http://www.leitrimobserver.ie/latest- Retrieved 2008-12-09.
irish-news/All-Irish-pork-recalled.4769236.jp. [57] "Sample cattle testing to continue on all farms".
Retrieved 2008-12-07. The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
[44] "Food authority moves to allay consumer fears". http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
RTÉ. 2008-12-07. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/ 2008/1210/1228864618799.html. Retrieved
1207/pork.html. Retrieved 2008-12-07. 2008-12-10.
[45] "Hotels and guesthouse ’co-operating’ after pork [58] "Watchdog talks down risk for several herds of
recall-IHF". Irish Independent. 2008-12-07. North cattle". The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
national-news/hotels-and-guesthouse- 2008/1210/1228849742590.html. Retrieved
cooperating-after-pork-recallihf-1566676.html. 2008-12-10.
Retrieved 2008-12-07. [59] "Milk supplies restricted due to feed scare, says
[46] "Tesco reassures customers after refunds McGimpsey". The Irish Times. 2008-12-10.
confusion". The Irish Times. 2008-12-08. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/ 2008/1210/1228849742621.html. Retrieved
2008/1208/breaking25.html?via=rel. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
2008-12-09. [60] "Irish pork is safe to eat, says EFSA". RTÉ News.
[47] "Information on Irish pork recall". RTÉ Money. 2008-12-10. http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/1210/
2008-12-08. http://www.rte.ie/money/2008/1208/ pork.html. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
pork.html. Retrieved 2008-12-12. [61] "EU food watchdog says it’s safe to eat Irish pork".
[48] "Food safety helpline receives over 3,000 calls". Irish Independent. 2008-12-11.
The Irish Times. 2008-12-09. http://www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/ eu-food-watchdog-says-its-safe-to-eat-irish-
2008/1209/breaking45.html?via=rel. Retrieved pork-1570547.html. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
2008-12-09. [62] Carolan, Mary (2010-03-06). "Garda to seek
[49] "Irish Republic recalls all pork". BBC. 2008-12-06. prosecutions in pig-feed investigation". The Irish
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7769391.stm. Times. Archived from the original on 2010-03-06.
Retrieved 2008-12-06. http://www.webcitation.org/5o1cFhbjI.
[50] "Safety limits and health risks". 2008-12-08. [63] Carolan, Mary (2010-03-10). "Attempt to stop pig
http://www.fsascience.net/2008/12/08/ feed contamination case fails". The Irish Times.
safety_limits_and_health_risks. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10.
[51] "Countries ban Irish pork in toxin scare". AFP. http://www.webcitation.org/5o7lfJjev.
2008-12-08. http://www.google.com/hostednews/
afp/article/
ALeqM5hocI0jilPER7uTKJp90cDaJgNmXA.
External links
Retrieved 2008-12-08. • Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
[52] ^ Conor Pope (8 December 2008). "World press has • RTÉ online news coverage
field day with Irish pork crisis". The Irish Times. • Pork contamination at the Irish Examiner
8
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Irish pork crisis of 2008
• RTÉ information on Irish pork recall • Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• FSAI Dioxins factsheet • Millstream Recycling Ltd. website (Google cache)
• Dioxins and PCBs explained (video)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irish_pork_crisis_of_2008&oldid=456447946"
Categories:
• 2008 in Ireland
• 2008 health disasters
• Food recalls
• Adulteration
• Food safety scandals
• Health in the Republic of Ireland
This page was last modified on 20 October 2011 at 01:21. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
9