EFSA gives regular pork eaters the all clear (updated)
Wednesday 10 December 2008
Advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on pork contaminated with dioxins published today stresses that products containing pork, such as sausages and pizza, can still be eaten, while regular consumers of Irish pork should not worry about their health as a result of this incident.
The EFSA opinion, requested by the European Commission two days ago, says that even if you have been eating Irish pork regularly since the first contamination on 1 September 2008, the amount of dioxin taken into your body would not cause a health problem. In the extremely unlikely event of someone eating large amounts of entirely contaminated pork every day since 1 September, the margin of error built into the weekly safety limit would mean it is highly unlikely you would suffer any harm.
EFSA experts considered how dioxins build up in pigs and in our bodies. In humans, as soon as we lower our intake of any dioxins, the levels of the chemicals in our bodies start to decrease. The fat from the pigs in products that contain pork will not be high enough to have any impact on people's health.
FSA Chief Scientist Andrew Wadge commented: 'It's good news that EFSA can say so clearly that composite pork products, such as sausage rolls and pork pies, are fine to eat. Their expert opinion is also extremely reassuring to the many of us who enjoy a good pork roast.'
Current situation in UK shops
Most major retailers and caterers have already traced and removed any products affected by the dioxin contamination. We’re working hard with retailers to agree a date this week when consumers can buy Irish pork unaffected by contaminated feed. Pork and pork products entirely reared, slaughtered and processed in Northern Ireland are unaffected by this incident.
We are working closely with the Irish authorities to find out when unaffected pork meat from unaffected farms can be brought back onto the retail market.
If consumers have any doubts or concerns about the source of any pork products they have bought, they should contact the shop at which they bought them.
The FSA will continue to provide regular updates as and when we have new information.