Initial dioxin and PCB test results generally satisfactory: further investigation at one farm on Anglesey
Thursday 21 June 2001
Initial results of dioxin and PCB tests carried out on eggs, unbulked milk, grass and soil from farms near selected Foot and Mouth pyres are within the expected range and do not cause concern, the Food Standards Agency said today
But the Agency is planning further investigation on one farm in Anglesey after tests on hen eggs revealed higher than expected levels of PCBs. The farmer does not supply eggs for public consumption and there is no risk to the food chain or public health.
The Agency thinks it is unlikely that the high level of PCBs found in the hen eggs is a result of the pyres. The dioxin levels in the same hen eggs are within the expected range for free range eggs, and the dioxin and PCB levels in duck eggs from the same farm are also within the expected range.
In addition, grass and soil samples from the Anglesey farm show dioxin levels within expected ranges. Initial findings show that the levels of dioxins and PCBs in milk samples from Devon and Anglesey are within the usual expected range. These factors suggest that something other than the pyres is the source of the contamination at the Anglesey farm.
Food Standards Agency Deputy Chair, Suzi Leather, said: "While we cannot be 100% certain that these higher than expected PCB levels are not a result of the pyres, we think it is unlikely. But the Agency will be going back to the farm in question to investigate further and get to the bottom of the problem. When we know what the cause is, we will say so publicly."
In May, the Agency advised the farm's owner not to eat any eggs from his farm after he reported that two deformed chicks had been born on his farm. He has been told of the test results and advised to continue to avoid eating eggs from his farm pending further investigation.
Full results of the nation-wide testing programme, which began in May, are expected in July.
Notes to editors
1. The samples were analysed at the Central Science Laboratory in York and assessed using the World Health Organisation (WHO) Toxic Equivalents (TEQ) system, which gives an overall indication of the toxicity of mixtures of dioxins and PCBs. Samples have been collected to date from Anglesey in North Wales, Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland and Sennybridge in South Wales. Samples are also being collected in Northern Ireland.
2. The Food Standards Agency launched a nation-wide programme testing dioxin and PCB levels in milk, eggs, soil and grass from farms near selected Foot and Mouth pyres in May.
3. Dioxins and PCBs are contaminants, which are released into the environment via incineration and some chemical processing. Once in the environment they degrade slowly. When animals feed on grass, soil, water they take in the contaminants present. PCBs and dioxins are present in most foodstuffs in low concentrations. But they are stored in fat and oil so higher levels are found in fatty/oily foods.
4. The Food Standards Agency's press release "New advice on milk from animals grazing near to pyres" Issued on 25 May gives further details of the Agency's plans to test dioxin and PCB levels in food from farms around Foot and Mouth pyres.
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