FEDERATION EUROPEENNE DES FABRICANTS DALIMENTS COMPOSES EUROPISCHER VERBAND DER MISCHFUTTERINDUSTRIE EUROPEAN FEED MANUFACTURERS FEDERATION

30.01.2006 (06) INFO 2

Member Associations Praesidium

EU RAPID ALERT NOTIFICATION: Dioxins in Pig Fat produced by Belgian gelatine manufacturer (by-product of gelatine produced from bones from slaughter animals fit for human consumption)

On 26 January 2006, the Dutch authorities notified to the EU Rapid alert system (N 2006/0068) a dioxin contamination of pig fat produced by a Belgian gelatine manufacturer which was used in compound feed in 2006. On 27 January 2006, the Belgian Food Safety Agency, AFSCA, provided additional testing results from the fat trading company, Profat, which has bought the pig fat from PB Gelatins, a Belgian gelatine manufacturer, indicating that 4 out of 30 samples tested positive with a range of 6.44 pg TEQ/g fat to 106.45 pg TEQ/g fat. The Dutch authorities provided another test result with a level of 220 pg TEQ/g fat taken from a sample from the pig fat delivery on 17.11.2005. According to AFSCA, the contaminated pig fat was delivered to one Dutch and two Belgian feed compounders. The responsible authorities have blocked temporarily a total of 371 pig and poultry farms in the Netherlands and Belgium. The investigation regarding the origin of the contamination showing an unusual pattern of the dioxin congeners is ongoing at the manufacturing site of the gelatine company; first results can be expected to be published by AFSCA as early as today (afternoon). No PCBs have been detected in any of the samples. We remind you that the max. permitted level of dioxins in animal fat is 2 pg TEQ/g fat. In the 1999 dioxin crisis, the maximum level of dioxin resulting from a PCB contamination tested was 10,000 pg TEQ/g fat.

FEFAC aisbl Rue de la Loi 223, Bte 3

B-1040 Bruxelles

Tel : (32-2) 285.00.50

Fax : (32-2) 230.57.22

fefac@fefac.org

www.fefac.org