Animal feed seizure

TWENTY tons of vegetable fat, used to feed pigs and other farm animals, have been confiscated by the authorities after it emerged they were ridden with dioxins.
The product came from Malaysia and was imported to Limassol port via the UK.
According to a source at the Agriculture Ministry, the fat could have caused serious problems if the dioxins in the food given to animals were above the acceptable limit.
He assured the public, however, that animal feed infected with dioxins had not been transmitted to the meat being consumed by the public, because the amount of fat injected in the feed was very low.

The specific dioxins are considered dangerous and toxic, and they are thought to be carcinogenous. Even a trillionth of a gram of dioxins can cause serious damages to the human system, provided someone consumes the specific product daily.
The safe limit for dioxins is 0.75 trillionth of a gram, while the product imported from Malaysia contained a much higher level than that.

Upon noticing the problem, the Agriculture Ministry informed all EU member states via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission, in case the product had been imported to other countries.

The Agriculture Ministry has confiscated the animal feed and will either be sending it back to Malaysia or to another third country.

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