Assurances given on dioxin feed
There is no animal feed in Greece that is contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical, Agricultural Development and Food Minister Evangelos Bassiakos said yesterday. «Animal feed which has been contaminated with dioxin has not been imported into Greece,» Bassiakos said after European authorities were put on the alert following the discovery by a Dutch firm of the carcinogenic chemical in animal feed containing pig fat. The feed was from Belgium but authorities there insisted the levels of dioxin were of no immediate danger to humans. But some 400 farms in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have been closed until more information is available. There was no indication that farms in Greece are to be closed as well. Industry sources said pig farms in Greece do not use industrial feed, opting for a corn-based one instead. However, Greece imports up to 70 percent of its pork and, sources said, it is possible that meat from animals who ate contaminated feed could have been imported.
