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BRUSSELS, Belgium – Europe’s worst food crisis since mad cow disease worsened last week as the list grew of countries suspending imports of pork, poultry, eggs and foods containing these products from Belgium or all the European Union.
Officials believe a host of Belgian farm products have been poisoned by the toxic chemical dioxin, which somehow got into animal feed.
On June 4 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced a temporary ban on imports of products from Belgium that might contain poultry meat, eggs and pork or pork products. It also includes animal feed.
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But the action was muted compared to the United States’ decision the same day to suspend chicken and pork imports from all of the European Union.
On Monday, the EU’s Standing Veterinary Committee, made up of member states’ chief veterinary officers, was convened to allow Belgium to explain national sales curbs it has introduced and for the European Commission to detail its action plan.
The EC has also asked Belgium to explain why there was a delay in passing on information since it first became aware of the dioxin contamination in late April. Legal action has not been ruled out.
France and the Netherlands have also had to write to the commission, providing information on their national measures taken and why, despite being informed of a potential problem on May 3 and May 12 respectively, no public action was taken.
The food scare has paralyzed Belgium’s meat industry, rocked the government of Belgian prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene days before an election and led to 1,000 livestock farms being sealed off and their products banned.
