South Korea Halts Imports of Belgian, Dutch Pork over Dioxin Find
SOUTH KOREA - South Korea has suspended pork imports from Belgium and the Netherlands after cancer-causing dioxin was found in Belgian animal feed products delivered to a Dutch company, a quarantine official said on Sunday.The move came after Dutch food authority VWA said on Thursday it had found dioxin in pork fat produced by Belgium's Profat TM and delivered to the Netherlands, the official at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service said by telephone.
"The agriculture ministry has notified of the temporary import suspension on Jan. 27, citing news reports of dioxin contamination in feed products supplied to the Netherlands," said the official, who declined to be identified.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry were not immediately available for comment.
Belgium's Food Agency confirmed that a ban has been put in place and that it was in contact with the South Korean authorities in a bid to resume trade.
"We know this is a very limited contamination," Food Agency spokesman Pascal Houbaert said. "We are trying to convince our trade partners to return to normal commercial relations."
Source: Planet Ark
30 January 2006
2 minute read
