Ireland’s food safety watchdog has put out a blanket recall on all pork products manufactured in the country after it emerged that a “significant proportion” of Irish pigs have been contaminated with cancer-causing dioxins. With the recall in hand, the Irish food industry has turned its attention to rebuilding international confidence in the quality of Irish food exports. Katy Humphries reports.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued a full recall of all pork products produced in the country on Saturday (6 December) after routine tests taken at ten pig farms – accounting for about 10% of Ireland’s pork production – found that the animals were contaminated with dioxins, which in high doses are associated with an increased risk of cancer.
The animals are thought to have been exposed to the dioxins in feed supplied by Millstream Recycle, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture says.
“The investigation into the feed manufacturer is continuing, with the EPA on site as we speak, investigating precisely what happened. Following receipt of the EPA report we will be in a better position to assess exactly how the food ingredient was contaminated,” a spokesperson for the Department tells just-food.
Feed and pork fat samples confirmed the presence of dioxins at 80 to 200 times the safe limits set by the World Health Organisation, the Department of Agriculture reveals.
“All pork products are included in the recall as a precautionary measure… because dioxins aren’t allowed in food,” a spokesperson for FSAI informs just-food.
The agency has warned consumers to avoid Irish pork.
However, FSAI downplays the risk posed by the consumption of contaminated pork. “Even though it is illegal, the risk to consumer health is extremely low,” the spokesperson says.
According to the Irish Association of Pigmeat Processors (IAPP), the potential impact of this recall could be “devastating”. A spokesperson for the industry body tells just-food that the news is “about as bad as it gets”.
The IAPP estimates that pork producers could face costs totalling as much as EUR100m (US$128m) and is calling on the Irish government to provide financial aide to shore-up the industry.
“The recall is a terrific burden on an industry that is already under considerable pressure,” the spokesperson comments.
Indeed, three days on and the recall has already resulted in job losses. Pork producer Rosderra Meats, which claims to produce about 50% of Ireland’s pig meat, is laying off 900 workers across its four production sites.
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Meanwhile, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) warns that a further 6,000 pork sector jobs are at risk.
“The crisis is already leading to thousands of workers being laid off and it is far from clear how many will be able to resume work again,” national industrial secretary Gerry McCormack comments.
With 90% of Irish pork unaffected by the contamination, SIPTU argues that with more comprehensive traceability down the supply chain, a full recall would not have been necessary.
“Very serious questions have to be asked about the current traceability system. Most of the plants where workers were laid off, including Rosderra Meats, were not affected by contamination. This means the present system counts for nothing,” SIPTU branch organiser Frank Jones, who represents the Rosderra workers, says.
However, the European Commission praises the Irish authorities handling of the contamination and subsequent recall.
“The Irish authorities have taken the appropriate action so no further action will be necessary from us,” a Commission spokesperson tells just-food this afternoon.
Ireland exports about EUR1m of pig meat each day and, according to figures from the Irish Exporters Association, exports of pig meat and processed foods containing pork totalled about EUR750m (US$950m) last year.
A spokesperson for Irish consumer foods company Kerry Foods says that the FSAI acted appropriately to safeguard the international reputation of the Irish food industry, protecting the future of Irish food exports.
“It has been prudent of the authorities to take the action they have done because Ireland enjoys a reputation for good quality internationally,” the spokesperson comments.
The spokesperson tells just-food that the impact of the recall on Kerry, which distributes pork products in the UK and Ireland, is minimised by the fact that the company has independent processing facilities in each market.
Kerry’s UK brands are therefore largely unaffected by the recall, where the group’s major sausage brands – Walls and Richmond – are both sourced locally. The only product to be subject to a recall in the UK is Kerry’s Boyers 5% pork sausage, the company reveals.
In Ireland, all Kerry products containing Irish pork have been recalled, including Denny sausages. However, the spokesperson says that Kerry hopes to get products back on the shelves in a matter of days.
“We have access to a supply of confirmed uncontaminated pork in Ireland and we are in discussions with authorities over whether we can get non-contaminated Irish pork back into the food chain,” the spokesperson says.
While Kerry is not disclosing the financial impact the crisis is expected to have on the company, in a note to investors Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Liam Igloo says that the company could face weekly losses of EUR4-5m in the run up to Christmas.
“We expect the initial logistical issues to be sorted quickly and product supply is expected to be resumed as early as tomorrow,” Igoe writes.
While Irish food manufacturers appear to have effectively contained the crisis and are now limiting the damage caused, the recall has resulted in mass redundancies in the primary processing sector and its cost to processed food manufacturers can already be counted in the millions. Even as the Irish food industry looks to re-establish its quality credentials, it is clear that the full impact of the recall is yet to be seen.
