Irish pork taken off the shelves after contamination alert
Food and drink
8th December 2008
A number of UK supermarkets have removed pork products originating in Ireland off their shelves as a precautionary measure after cancer-causing dioxins were detected during routine tests.
It is believed the contamination was caused by animal feed which was used on 36 farms throughout Ireland, 29 of which produced pork and eight produced beef.
Official UK figures show that 15,000 tonnes of pork and bacon were imported from Ireland between April and July.
A spokesperson for the retail giant Sainsbury's said none of its products came from the Republic of Ireland, as all pork and bacon was imported from Holland or Denmark, or was produced in the UK.
Professor Alan Boobis, head of Imperial College London's Department of Health Toxicology Unit, said that previous studies have suggested the dioxins do not have the same negative affect on humans that they do on animals.
He commented: "Exposure at an elevated level over a month or so would not do any damage."
