14 DAY TRIAL // Authorities in Ireland recalled all pork-related products from the market on Saturday, following reports that all of it had been infected with toxic dioxins, compounds that accumulate inside the body over time, and can cause severe medical conditions, including cancer. On Sunday, Chief Veterinary Officer Paddy Rogan announced that some 25 countries already received imports of infected Irish pork meat, France and the Netherlands included.
Health experts say that the health risks for the population are minimal, as there is a relatively low amount of infected meat out there, and it takes time for dioxins to accumulate inside the host, before they can trigger any kind of problem. However, it is very difficult to harness the panic associated with such withdrawals, and keeping malls under control is the hardest. Already, people desperate that they might be left without meat hit the shelves, hoping to buy the last pieces of whatever they could find.
"The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is today advising consumers not to eat pork or pork products, such as sausages, bacon, salami and ham, which are labeled as being from the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland," the FSA said in a statement on Sunday. "[We do] not believe there is significant risk to UK consumers."
Imperial College London toxicologist, Professor Alan Boobis, argues that "These compounds take a long time to accumulate in the body, so a relatively short period of exposure would have little impact on the total body burden."
"We do have our suspicions this time that the oil being used was not food grade and therefore may have led to the contamination which has caused such a crisis throughout the industry but only affecting a small amount of pork," says Ireland's Food Minister, Trevor Sargent, referring to the fact that the oil regularly used to cook the feed should have been of a higher quality.