FEFAC Comments On Irish Dioxins In Feed

FEFAC President Pedro Corrêa de Barros commented on the Dioxin and Dioxin-like PCB contamination of pigmeat of Irish origin by stating that commercially produced compound feed was not involved in the new contamination case. He noted, however, that "the incident was highly regrettable, because it was completely preventable, if the bakery recycling plant had applied correctly the obligatory HACCP rules in place since January 1, 2006 under E.U. legislation. The use of waste oil as fuel source in direct drying operations at food waste recycling plants as the most likely contamination cause, has been indeed identified as a potential dioxin source since 1998."

He stressed the need to review the possible extension of obligatory HACCP rules for all feed business operators including food recycling plants and home mixing operations under the E.U. Feed Hygiene Regulation (EC) No 183/2005. Corrêa de Barros said official controls authorities can no longer deny that such operations are "high-risk" activities. He said producing feed requires proper know-how and care, and it is the duty of the control authorities to ensure that "non-professionals" do not put a chain at risk. As a matter of principle, FEFAC said it believes that companies holding a waste-processing permit should not be authorized to recycle food waste into the feed chain. FEFAC, in any case, insists that the E.U. ban on the use of catering waste for feed purposes remains in place.