France and Spain were hit on Tuesday by a dioxin contamination scare that has forced the closure of almost 200 Dutch farms after the cancer-causing toxin was found in animal feed. The European Commission and officials in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, where contamination was previously found, have ruled out serious risk to public health but farms have been shut pending the outcome of tests.
The Dutch agriculture ministry in a statement said that two cows from one of the contaminated Dutch farms were exported to Spain.
It also said German-made clay which is used for sorting potatoes for animal feed, and which has been found to be contaminated with dioxin, has shown up in France as well as in Belgium, where it was known to have been exported.
Officials said last week that contaminated animal feed, made of potato peelings, had been bought by hundreds of Dutch cattle, pig, sheep and goat farms and shipped to Germany and Belgium.
The dioxin outbreak has led to the temporary closure of a total of 197 Dutch farms, eight farms in Belgium and four in Germany. Authorities are still examining the feed and animals and any impact on the food chain, such as in meat and milk.
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