Recall Information I Recall of Pork and Bacon Products December 2008 I Topics ofIntere... Page 1 of 4

Recall Information

Why have all Irish pork and bacon products been recalled from the

market?

Irish produced pigmeat has recently tested positive for the presence of

dioxins. It is estimated that approximately 10% of pigmeat from the

Republic of Ireland is affected by the current contamination with dioxins.

However, as all Irish pigs are slaughtered and processed in a small number

of processing plants, it has not been possible to distinguish between

potentially contaminated and non-contaminated product. Therefore, as a

precautionary measure all pork products originating from the Irish Republic

have been recalled.

What has the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said about the

recall?

EFSA issued an opinion on 10 December stating that following its risk

assessment there was no risk to health for anyone who had consumed

potentially contaminated pork products in the three months prior to the

recall of all Irish pork products. This reaffirms the action taken by the FSAI

which limited further exposure to pork products contaminated with dioxins.

EFSA was able to make this health statement because it could restrict the

exposure period to 90 days due to the recall initiated by the Irish

authorities. If the recall had not happened, exposure would have been over

a longer period and the health assessment by EFSA might have been very

different.

See EFSA Opinion

How were the dioxins found?

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) discovered the

presence of marker PCBs, indicative of dioxin contamination, in pork fat

during routine monitoring of the food chain for a range of contaminants.

Samples were sent to a laboratory in the UK for further analysis to

determine if there were dioxins present. Results (received on Saturday 6

December) have confirmed that dioxins were present in the samples.

Products from the 1 September are being recalled. Has the FSAI known

about this contamination since then?

The FSAI was informed recently by the Department of Agriculture,

Fisheries and Food of a problem with PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls)

contamination in pigmeat. Since then the Dutch authorities notified us that

they had observed high dioxin levels in pork fat in mid-September.

Therefore, a date of 1 September was chosen as a precautionary date for

the recall.

See information on dioxin recall timeline for further details.

How would I know that the pork product originates from the Irish Republic?

Products of animal origin must have an identification mark and the country

abbreviation for products originating in the Irish Republic is 'IE'.

This should be located on an oval mark on the label of the product with the

plant number and the abbreviation 'EC' for the European Community.

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Recall Information IRecall of Pork and Bacon Products December 2008 ITopics ofIntere... Page 2 of 4

Is any routine sampling carried out or was this found by accident?

The FSAI, in collaboration with its official agencies, carries out regular

checks on levels of dioxins and PCBs in the food chain. Previously, the

results of these checks have shown that the levels in Irish food are

generally low compared with other industrialised countries.

Approximately 70 samples of pig fat are analysed for PCBs annually by the

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as part of the national

Residue Monitoring Programme.

Are other meat products affected?

Preliminary tests have shown the presence of marker PCBs (not dioxins) in

a number of beef samples tested. There is considered to be no public

health concern in relation to beef. Beef and beef products are not being

recalled. All animals in herds shown to be above the proposed legal limit

will be taken out of the food chain and any products from these herds will

not be released onto the market.

How has FSAI assessed the risk?

As part of deliberations by the FSAI on this aspect, its scientific experts

have consulted widely with scientific experts in the European Food Safety

Authority; the World Health Organization as well as with counterpart health

risk assessors in the Food Standards Agency (UK). In addition, Department

of Health & Children has been in consultation with the Belgian authorities

regarding their continued population health monitoring since their dioxin

incident in 1999.

What about traceability?

All food and animal feed businesses are required to establish and

implement food traceability systems which are compliant with current

legislation. It is a legal requirement to have a system or set of procedures

that allows food businesses to trace one step forward and one step back.

This means that food businesses know who supplied them and where their

product has gone. However, there is no legal requirement for food

businesses to have traceability systems which can trace raw materials

through the factory and into finished product (i.e. Process Traceability). So

it is not a legal requirement for pork factories to be able to identify exactly

which pork carcass from a particular farm went into each batch of finished

pork product.

Pig slaughter plants in Ireland comply with these legal traceability

requirements under the supervision of DAFF. However, given the nature of

the slaughter and cutting process it is unlikely that these processors would

have been able to introduce additional traceability systems to those

required by law. Therefore, most pork processors cannot identify exactly

which farm produced the pigs that resulted in the pork cuts distributed from

the factory. This necessitated a complete recall.

See a simplified process flow on how traceability works in relation to pigmeat production

Does this include product from Northern Ireland as well as the Republic?

This recall just includes pork and bacon from the Republic of Ireland. On

Tuesday 9 December, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK, issued a

food alert, where all pork meat and pork products originating from the

Republic of Ireland should be withdrawn from the distribution chain in

Northern Ireland. See FSA website. Pork and bacon produced in Northern

Ireland is not implicated in the FSA alert.

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Recall Information IRecall of Pork and Bacon Products December 2008 ITopics ofIntere... Page 3 of 4

Has any Irish pork been exported?

The FSAI is aware (as of 10 December) that Irish pork has been distributed

to the following countries:

• Belgium

• Denmark

• Estonia

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Netherlands

• Poland

• Portugal

• Korea

• Austria

• Lithuania

• Romania

• Greece

• Bulgaria

• Sweden

• United Kingdom

• Canada

• China

• China-Hong Kong

• Japan

• Russia

• Singapore

• Switzerland

• United States

When will pork be back on the market?

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has stated that the

necessary controls are now in place to enable the restoration of supplies of

Irish pork and bacon products. In addition, the European Commission has

ruled on conditions that must be met for product to be placed on the

market. This includes rules for composite products like pizza and ready

meals that have pork ingredients. The FSAI and its official agencies are

currently working with the retail sector and producers in relation to

resumption of product supply.

See press release from Minister

How will I know that the product that is back on the market is safe?

Pork products appearing back on the market will have been certified by

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) and Local Authority

Veterinary Inspectors. The majority of these products will carry a Bord Bia

label which will confirm that they are safe to eat and have not been

associated with the potentially contaminated feed. Food business operators

placing products on the market which do not carry this label must have

documentation to show that this product has been certified as being safe

for consumption. These products may include imported pork products,

organic pork products, pork products which did not come from affected

processing plants or pork products produced prior to 1 September 2008.

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Recall Information 1Recall of Pork and Bacon Products December 20081 Topics ofIntere... Page 40f4

Composite products, like pizza and ready meals containing pork

ingredients, will be allowed back on the market provided that they contain

less than 20% Irish pork meat and fat combined.

Last reviewed: 31412009

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