In
1996, the "mad-cow disease" scandal which lasted for three
years, caused a major scare in Europe. And in May of 1999, the Belgian
dioxin scandal occurred, revealing possible contamination of food,
including poultry, eggs, beef, pork, milk and hundreds of by-products.
It is the biggest food contamination crisis since mad-cow disease,
with an even bigger impact and a wider range of influence.
When
the crisis broke, it was revealed that the chickens on several Belgian
chicken farms were abnormal: Some hens produced fewer eggs, and those
eggs that were laid had harder shells. Moreover, some chickens became
sick. Laboratory tests showed that dioxin levels in the chickens'
fat were 140 times higher than the safe standard set by the World
Health Organization. Therefore, the cause of the chickens' sickness
was determined to be feed contaminated with excessive amounts of dioxin.
The term " dioxin"
refers to a family of chlorinated organic chemicals found to be a
severe cancer hazard in humans. Studies have revealed that exposure
to dioxins can also cause severe reproductive and developmental problems,
and that these compounds can cause damage to the immune system and
may interfere with regulatory hormones. Due to its widespread use
and super toxicity, dioxin is considered to be among the most toxic
organic chemicals in the world, and a potentially severe hazard to
human health. In 1997 the World Health Organization claimed dioxin
to be a category one carcinogen. If consumed over a long term, even
in very small amounts, it may cause increased risk for cancer and
injury to the skin and liver. It can also cause birth defects if consumed
by pregnant women. Dioxin can be transferred to infants through mother's
milk during breast feeding or through cow's milk, and may cause great
harm.
Dioxins are unintentional
by-products of industry. The major sources of dioxin compounds in
the environment (95%) are incinerators burning chlorinated wastes.
Dioxins are also by-products or foreign substances in many industrial
processes involving the manufacture of pesticides, antiseptics, herbicides
and paint additives. Other man-made sources of dioxins include pulp
and paper bleaching, motor vehicle exhaust, and the smelting of metals.
Human exposure to dioxins
takes place through inhalation of motor vehicle exhaust, dust in the
air, contaminated soil and food consumption. Among these sources,
food consumption is the main channel of human exposure to dioxins,
which pollute animal products through contaminated feed, then enter
the human body through the consumption of these animal products. Once
consumed, dioxins remain in body fat and are difficult to get rid
of because of their chemical stability.
The origin of the Belgian
food contamination crisis was a fat-and-oil processing firm, Verkest,
which is believed to have supplied eight tons of animal fat, contaminated
with motor oil containing dioxin, to ten animal-feed manufacturers
in Belgium, one in France and one in the Netherlands. The contaminated
animal fats were used to manufacture animal feed, which was then sold
to more than 2,000 farms, and the contamination was consequently spread
across a wider range. Potentially affected and hence banned products
include poultry, eggs, pork, beef, dairy products and related by-products.
Food safety is an increasing
concern throughout the world, and any problem involving food safety
often creates a worldwide scare. On May 28, 1999, Belgium swept its
shelves clear of possibly contaminated poultry and egg products. As
soon as the news was revealed, it caused a great disturbance in Belgium
as well as in other countries that import Belgian poultry and egg
products. These countries, one after another, imposed strict restrictions
on Belgian meat and poultry and their by-products. The European Union
took the lead, outlawing the sale and ordering the elimination of
contaminated poultry, pork and cattle products in its fifteen member
counties, who also slammed their doors on Belgian meat, eggs and dairy
products.
Because Belgium is one
of the world's major animal feed producing countries, and other countries
in Europe may have imported the contaminated meat or products, the
United States imposed wider bans on all poultry and pork from EU countries.
Other countries that have temporarily imposed restrictions on Belgian
food imports include South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Congo Republic
and Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea,
Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and China. All of a sudden, an unfamiliar
term, "dioxin", is appearing frequently in various news
media and making consumers panic.
This food scare, considered
the most serious since the "mad-cow disease" scandal, is
still spreading to a wider range. It has already caused major losses
both politically and economically, yet its effect on consumers' health
is difficult to estimate. In the meantime, some hamburger beef was
found to be contaminated by dioxins in Henson, Germany, with dioxins
five times the safe standard. Fortunately, this beef had not yet been
put on the market. Also, a report by New York University in the United
States showed that the amount of dioxin in American pork was 11 times
that in Belgian pork. This report also showed that the pork in American
supermarkets contained 11.8 micrograms of carcinogenic substance per
gram of meat.
In recent years, problems
related to food safety have been making consumers panic. "The
Belgian Freedom Daily" printed an editorial article asking: If
there are hormones in beef, antiseptic substances in cheese, swine
fever and antibiotics in pork; mercury in fish; and now carcinogenic
substances in chickens and eggs ..., then "What shall we have
for dinner tonight?" becomes a serious question. In fact the
answer is quite straightforward: Start to follow a vegetarian diet
now! 
