Of course, the Government could have waited for this opinion by the PVC, but in that case it would not have been possible to supply the market today. A scientific committee has advised the Government to assess the presence of dioxin by means of PCB testing. The EU's Permanent Veterinary Committee approved this method today. This week, the Government has had a series of PCB tests performed on milk. The results are attached.
All tests are negative.
The Departments of Agriculture and Public Health are therefore of the opinion that there is enough evidence to conclude that all milk collected in Belgium is up to standard. As the relevant Belgian authorities, the Departments of Agriculture and Public Health will, in accordance with Article 2 of the EU Decision, certify that Belgian milk complies with the EU Decision. To increase the credibility of the certification, monitoring will be organised on the basis of PCB testing on a mixed sample of milk taken from all dairy companies each week. On this basis, certification may begin on Saturday 12 June on the basis of the available PCB test results. In the case of processed products, the weekly production will be certified by PCB testing of a sample.