Germany finds dioxin in samples of chicken

BERLIN - German investigators have found excessive levels of cancer-causing dioxin in chicken - the first such confirmation of tainted meat since the discovery that German farm animals had eaten contaminated feed, possibly for months.

Three chickens - out of 15 samples of chicken, turkey, and pork sent to the EU Commission - showed a dioxin concentration twice as high as legally allowed, an Agriculture Ministry spokesman said Saturday.

Excessive dioxin levels were previously discovered in German eggs.

The spokesman said that the meat of the contaminated chickens was not sold but that eating it would not have been harmful in the short term because the contamination level was so low. He declined to be named, in line with government policy.

Germany has frozen sales of poultry, pork, and eggs from more than 4,700 farms to stem the spread of food that could have been contaminated with dioxin after livestock feed was found to be tainted.

Fat produced for use in feed pellets contained more than 77 times the approved amount of dioxin, according to tests published Friday by the Schleswig-Holstein state agriculture ministry. The agency also said it had information that the German firm Harles & Jentzsch GmbH had been producing tainted fat for months.

Harles & Jentzsch did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

Dioxins are contaminants that often result from industrial combustion, and exposure to them at high levels is linked to an increased incidence of cancer.

The scandal broke after regular random testing revealed excessive dioxin levels in eggs in western Germany. More than 8,000 chickens were ordered slaughtered.

South Korea and Slovakia on Friday banned the sale of some animal products imported from Germany, and authorities in Britain, Italy, and the Netherlands were investigating whether food containing German eggs was safe to eat.

In Britain, supermarkets such as Tesco, Morrison's, and Sainsbury's removed cakes, quiches, and other egg products from their shelves after it was confirmed that eggs contaminated with dioxins had been used to produce them.