Comments on: Dioxins in Pork

By: Bryan Wallwok

Bryan Wallwok — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:46:56 +0000

that Guardian story is in error (so no change there then!). Why would anyone (not even the Irish!) want to make ‘green diesel’ into ‘red diesel’.??? And I can’t see why removing the red dye would add dioxins, especially as the latter is formed from other substances (which are seldom mentioned), or that dioxins are formed in any processes that may be used, where does the chlorine come from?

If Dioxins are found, they are as a small component of their parent compounds, pcb’s, for example. For me, the most likely origin of the dioxin (found in Irish pork/beef and who knows what else?) is from transformer oil, which contains large quantites of pcb’s. The chemical properties of pcb’s and dioxins (PCDD + PCDF) are very similar, so if dioxins are present, and their origin is pcb’s, these must be present as well.

The plot thickens, maybe not everything is being reported by the Irish police (wonder why!). Interesting that the Irish (and British) food agencies are saying dioxins are not a cause for concern here.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:19:42 +0000

Detectives on both sides of the Irish border were yesterday investigating claims that smuggled fuel may have contaminated the animal feed behind the Irish pork crisis, which last night prompted the Food Standards Agency to order the withdrawal of all Irish pork products from supermarket shelves in Britain.

By: William Kinsella

William Kinsella — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 22:37:46 +0000

Effects of dioxins on human health
Short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer. TCDD was evaluated by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1997. Based on animal data and on human epidemiology data, TCDD was classified by IARC as a “known human carcinogen”. However, TCDD does not affect genetic material and there is a level of exposure below which cancer risk would be negligible.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:57:47 +0000

Ah, righto, thanks Bryan. It *has* been found in Irish beef, see my earlier addendum. PCBs were the start of this they were apparently discovered in pig feed in September:

http://www.fsai.ie/industry/hottopics/industry_topics_dioxins_pcbs.asp

http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/press_office/news_of_the_day/pigmeat-contamination_en.htm

I think basically, the food industry is using mineral oil instead of vegetable oil as a drying agent and the mineral oil is contaminated with PCBs which break down to dioxins…

By: Bryan Wallwok

Bryan Wallwok — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:25:07 +0000

David,
I was really commenting on the ‘media’s’ view of all this, rather than your very lucid remarks. I can’t remember having seeen or heard any news about ‘other’ compounds being found, which have to be there, if not, the only conclusion is that dioxins were added deliberately.

Also, I cannot see why Irish beef is not contaminated as well, if using similar feed.

It all seems that we are only being fed certain information, so no change there!

There does not seem to be a distiction between mineral oil and vegetable oils in the Irish incident, the former I can see a contamination route, the latter is not so clear!

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:48:26 +0000

“Ireland announced Tuesday it has found illegal levels of dioxins — the chemicals that are devastating its pork industry — in cattle, but insisted its beef was safe to eat.” – http://tinyurl.com/6jw5a7

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:18:09 +0000

Bryan, the sources I tracked for this post pointed out that PCBs were found in pork products previously and as I actually say in the post, they could be degradation products formed during excessive heating of non-feed oils used at some point in the production process. I don’t think I suggested anywhere in my post that other compounds were not present with dioxins. I was merely stating that “pure” dioxin has a certain level of toxicity, it can, after all, be produced relatively pure and tested regardless of whether that happens naturally or not.

By: Bryan Wallwok

Bryan Wallwok — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:05:44 +0000

it should be made aware that dioxins occur as a byproduct or metabolite, they (dioxins) are not useful, and therefore not produced (deliberately) by industry, so they must have been produced from other substaces, like pcb’s, chlorophenols, hexachlorophene, 245T, etc. I don’t remember seeing any of these mentioned in connection with the Irish pork problem, surely dioxin cannot be the only thing in the contaminted oil (if it is this).

As dioxin is not produced alone, i.e. other substances (in much greater amounts) are always present, it is very unscientific to suggest that dioxin (alone) in solely responsible for symptoms of acute/chronic exposure.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:18:44 +0000

China has banned Irish pork, in the wake of the dioxins scare.

By: David Bradley

David Bradley — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:30:21 +0000

It has just been confirmed by PA what I alluded to in the post – “Unlicensed oil was used at a food recycling plant at the centre of the pork contamination crisis which has crippled the country’s pig industry, it has been confirmed.” Apparently pig and beef farms across Ireland and Northern Ireland have received the dioxin-contaminated feed.