Ban on Pork Poducts - Why still selling?

Scottie99

My wife has just back from the local Super Value and they are still selling Irish pork? Why after the Government ban/recall are they still selling these products?

Ciaran500

Ask them.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Ask them.

Nice and helpful.

I think, because this is a discussion board, the OP was hoping that someone here might know the answer.

/ p.s. I don't know the answer

jen_23

I just heard a while ago that Tescos has pulled everything pork off it's shelves leaving it bare.

They should have pulled everything off. The reason for the such large recall is that they can only trace the abatoir where the pigs were slaughtered not the individual animals.

So maybe it was a different abatoir there supplies came from.
However I would question that as I said tescos have pulled everything! Denny galtee etc...

I assume the same brands would in the very least be pulled everywhere.

I wouldn't buy any Pork from anywhere in the republic untill this has been resolved. Better safe than sorry!!!

jd

I was in Spar in Northwood, Santry last night. I asked the manageress why was there still Irish pork products on the shelves. She said she didn't have the authority to remove them! You'd wonder what does a manager do there. She couldn't seem to care less, and went back to stacking the shelves.

zAbbo

It's a ban on IRISH pork products, not all of the pork sold in Irish shops are Irish, and some of those sausages have a very low level of pork in them, 40-55% Pork...

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that many of the brand names don't actually use Irish pork, probably sourced from Holland etc.

RuggieBear

tbh it sounds like we've all being eating this stuff for 4 months anyway....what's another rasher going to change?

grangeglens

my local supervalu has removed all pork products including frozen pizza, ready meals

jen_23

Actually though it does have health implicatons for adults to a point if your eating 10 rashers a day followed by bacon for your dinner. It can be quite serious for kids and developing foetus. As the PCBs target the developing organs.
So for some people 1 more can be harmful if the dose of PCBs was very high.
Like all these things it's stupid to volunteer yourself to put these harmful toxins into your body.

So as I say why take the risk. You know that there out there. the products contain seriously harmful chemicals. Would you willingly sprinkle something on your food which is a known carcinogen? I know I wouldn't.

snubbleste

Tesco in Galway are still selling pork products - those with an IE oval stamp on them (are from Northern Ireland). They include Tesco Value sausages, rashers and black/white pudding.

Also they are selling pork products with a UK stamp on them.
Rep. of Ireland produce have an IRL oval stamp.

rameire

jen_23 wrote: »

So as I say why take the risk. You know that there out there. the products contain seriously harmful chemicals. Would you willingly sprinkle something on your food which is a known carcinogen? I know I wouldn't.

people smoke......

Shelflife

They should remove all irish pork, but as an earlier poster said many shops wont have a manager there to make that decision.

Fighting Irish

What day is it today? Everyone make a pork thread day?

aww sweet

mikemac

Looks like M&S tactic of putting "British" and a small union flag on their food is going to pay off

krudler

RuggieBear wrote: »

tbh it sounds like we've all being eating this stuff for 4 months anyway....what's another rasher going to change?

Well said, people are freaking out over something that nobody has gotten ill over yet despite it being around for months, we'll all be fine, of course over the next few weeks the papers will be full of stories that anyone with a stomach bug was poisoned by tainted rashers

311

I was going to eat sausages this morning myself ,but it would be taking the p*ss especially with the news today.

Next week we'll be back as normal.

ArmaniJeanss

Whilst looking for cigarettes (I get the irony btw) in TempleBar/O'ConnellSt last night I noticed all the Spar/Centra shops still had Irish pork products on the shelves.

OK, so its probably the case that the manager doesn't have the authority to remove the products etc.

Thats not good enough though and these shops shouldn't be allowed have such a system that prevents them being able to do the right thing during a major health scare.

These same shops were well able to have a system in place that put up the price of cigarettes by 50c at midnight on the day of the budget.

Shelflife

These same shops were well able to have a system in place that put up the price of cigarettes by 50c at midnight on the day of the budget.

but in that instance it was a situation that had happened before and was expected.

i (retailer) only found out about the recall late last night and removed all this morning.

ordering a recall on a sat when they knew about it all week was madness by the govt.

aerosexual77

This is going to have a terrible effect on the Irish pig export market and I predict many jobs will be lost.

I think its a complete over reaction by the authorities. No one knows what goes into many products today. Cigs and alcohol (when have you ever seen on a label of a bottle of wine what goes into it) are much worse than a pork chop that has a tiny chance of being affected and it still wont kill you!

We ve been eating this pork for the last few months, I for one am going to live life on the wild side and Im looking forward to my roast pork dinner tonight, washed down with a few glasses of vino!!

Toto Wolfcastle

I was in Dunnes in Douglas, Cork this morning and the fridges where the pork would usually be kept were empty.

grizzly

aerosexual77 wrote: »

I think its a complete over reaction by the authorities. No one knows what goes into many products today. Cigs and alcohol (when have you ever seen on a label of a bottle of wine what goes into it) are much worse than a pork chop that has a tiny chance of being affected and it still wont kill you!

I agree that the authorities shouldn't overreact. Unfortunately they are not.

This toxin in very dangerous. Not in the short term, but for later in life and for the next generation. These things build up in a person; stored in fat cells and passed on to the foetus causing birth defects even at small levels of exposure. There are known "safe levels" for PCBs and we are told the exposure is X 200.

http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/

jen_23

rameire wrote: »

people smoke......

That's a fair statement. However, That personal choice. The thing here is that a very dangerous toxin at 80 to 200 times the safe limit is in the foodchain.
As I said you and me eating it. Well chances are wel be fine it's the pregnant women and children who are going to be hit with this.
As I said the toxin targets developing organs so some people could be facing hardship over this.
We don't know, there is a reason that this toxin is banned!! It is very dangerous.

Also my point being yes people smoke BUT would you give a child a cigarette........ (I would assume the general answer here would/should be no)

eoinf

I had six cans of dutch ,a half bottle of cheap aldi wine , a couple of pints of guinness , a few gins ,one or two vodkas with red bull, a kebab and garlic chips finished off with a yop and 3 panadol last night.

woke up this morning craving a big dirty fry up but i soon as i heard the new i said no way man.

My body is a temple i wasnt puting those toxants anywhere near me.

311

eoinf wrote: »

I had six cans of dutch ,a half bottle of cheap aldi wine , a couple of pints of guinness , a few gins ,one or two vodkas with red bull, a kebab and garlic chips finished off with a yop and 3 panadol last night.

woke up this morning craving a big dirty fry up but i soon as i heard the new i said no way man.

My body is a temple i wasnt puting those toxants anywhere near me.

Spot on man!

JohnC.

eoinf wrote: »

I had six cans of dutch ,a half bottle of cheap aldi wine , a couple of pints of guinness , a few gins ,one or two vodkas with red bull, a kebab and garlic chips finished off with a yop and 3 panadol last night.

woke up this morning craving a big dirty fry up but i soon as i heard the new i said no way man.

My body is a temple i wasnt puting those toxants anywhere near me.

Do you realise the difference between alcohol and dioxins?

311

Kahless wrote: »

Do you realise the difference between alcohol and dioxins?

Get a grip ,the guy is pointing out the junk food we eat. Which can come from anywhere and the damage that alcohol does to people.
A fry up with dioxins is harmless in comparison, if anything this scare has probably made people think about all the junk thats around.

Irish people didn't get where they are on chinese food and pizza.

January

jen_23 wrote: »

Actually though it does have health implicatons for adults to a point if your eating 10 rashers a day followed by bacon for your dinner. It can be quite serious for kids and developing foetus. As the PCBs target the developing organs.

Have you any links to information on this???

JohnC.

What has junk food got to do with pork that has dioxins in it? Junk food is a separate issue. People know it is bad. Pork, however, isn't generally expected to have dioxins in it. Dioxins which will stay and build up in the body.

311

Absolutely agree about the seriousness of the situation ,but it's farmers who are affected by all this and it's not their fault.
The best thing we can do is forget about this and carry on as before. And be glad we live in a country that cares about our national product.

jen_23

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Have you any links to information on this???

Hi Adrieanne,

Excessive exposure to PCBs may affect the brain, eye, heart, immune system, kidney, liver, reproductive
system, skin, thyroid gland and the unborn child, and may cause cancer. Both the US Environmental Protection
Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have determined that PCBs are probably
carcinogenic to humans.

Link below

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:a7XXLSgR3N4J:assets.panda.org/downloads/fact_sheet___pcbs_food.pdf+pcb+affect+foetus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ie&client=firefox-a

Below I've also included a study From 1978 to 1979, a group of people in Taiwan were exposed to high levels of heat-degraded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) owing to accidental ingestion of contaminated rice oil. Children born to mothers following the exposure (‘Yucheng’ children) were known to have hyperpigmented skin and other dysmorphology after birth.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/q62526775q310882/

http://www.gascape.org/index%20/Health%20effects%20of%20Dioxins.html

craichoe

jen_23 wrote: »

Hi Adrieanne,

Excessive exposure to PCBs may affect the brain, eye, heart, immune system, kidney, liver, reproductive
system, skin, thyroid gland and the unborn child, and may cause cancer. Both the US Environmental Protection
Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have determined that PCBs are probably
carcinogenic to humans.

Link below

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:a7XXLSgR3N4J:assets.panda.org/downloads/fact_sheet___pcbs_food.pdf+pcb+affect+foetus&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=ie&client=firefox-a

Below I've also included a study From 1978 to 1979, a group of people in Taiwan were exposed to high levels of heat-degraded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) owing to accidental ingestion of contaminated rice oil. Children born to mothers following the exposure (‘Yucheng’ children) were known to have hyperpigmented skin and other dysmorphology after birth.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/q62526775q310882/

http://www.gascape.org/index%20/Health%20effects%20of%20Dioxins.html

Hi Jen,

I think the point here is that there are thousands of carcenogenic substances we are exposed to every day, increased radon levels, Diesel Particulates, theres lots...

But the point here is that your would have to be exposed to Dioxins for VERY long periods of time for there to be any harmful effects.

Note the part in bold above.. "HIGH Levels" exposure to any carcenogen at high levels is dangerous.

Jees every summer i see Irish people going out in the blazing sun with NO PROTECTION from the Sun and that in itself can cause skin cancer, when exposed to HIGH LEVELS.

Jip

Apparently you'd have to eat a pack of these contaminated sausages every day for 40 years before they'll have an affect on you. And there's no risk to pregnant woman either such is the low levels of dioxins.

Andy454

Jip wrote: »

Apparently you'd have to eat a pack of these contaminated sausages every day for 40 years before they'll have an affect on you. And there's no risk to pregnant woman either such is the low levels of dioxins.

Could you give your source on this information and the calculation used to come to this conclusion?

How also do you determine the exact dosage required to cause one of the cancers mentioned previously.

I am deeply distrubed by the fact that feed from a waste recycling plant is the root cause of this scare! They were feeding waste to animals destined for human consumption! How were they not expecting something like this to occur??

All rte seem to care about is about the impact to the farmers and their pockets - What about the impact to the consumer!!! Surely THEY should be the ones at the centre of this concern!

What sick farmer would feed his animals on waste from a recycling plant and then sell his animals to the meat industry!

What a sick world we live in!

Jip

It has come from several medical sources, one of which said so yesterday morning on Today FM. Even the chief medical officer has said there's no risk in eating them.
And directly from the FSAI website

Should I be concerned?
Even though it is illegal for dioxins to be present in foodstuffs, any possible risk to consumer health is extremely low.

And your conclusion on how this has happened is incorrect, read up on what the suspected cause is before claiming that famers knowingly caused this,

311

Andy454 wrote: »

What sick farmer would feed his animals on waste from a recycling plant and then sell his animals to the meat industry!

What a sick world we live in!

What a stupid attitude to have ,farmers probably buy this feed from a supplier who buys from the producer.
The plant in question is a modern one and its all under investigation.
With the attitude you have ,you'd try and make out all farmers are vegetarians.

jor el

jen_23 wrote: »

Excessive exposure

And there it is, excessive exposure. Just like everything that's bad for us, it's excessive use/consumption/exposure that is the problem. Radon gas seeping up from the ground will kill hundreds of people in Ireland, why hasn't every house without an adequate radon barrier been knocked down? There was no need to recall all the pork products, or destroy all potentially infected animals, as the exposure will be minimal, even if we keep eating the remaining potentially exposed products. As long as the contaminated food source is identified and removed, then future products will be safe.

An announcement could be made, giving people the choice themselves of whether to risk it or not. The recall is a PR thing so it looks like they're doing the right thing. If they hadn't done it, they'd be critisised by other idiots.

Andy454 wrote: »

I am deeply distrubed by the fact that feed from a waste recycling plant is the root cause of this scare! They were feeding waste to animals destined for human consumption! How were they not expecting something like this to occur??

Farmers have been spreading slurry, human waste, on fields of grass, which is then eaten by cows, pigs, sheep, etc, for decades. Why are you so disturbed by this now? Your post reads like something you'd find in The Daily Mail. All it's missing is an excessive amount of exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!

jen_23

The Irish Times confirms the findings of the tests: “the pork tested this week had up to 200 times more dioxins than is considered safe.” The PCB “safety” limit of the EU is set at a maximum of 14 pg TEQ/kg per week, that would mean Irish pork has been tested at levels of around 2,800 pg TEQ/kg per week to match the stated “200 times”, which is 19,990% above the limit.

Just me but anything 200 times over what is deemed safe is something I personally would not like to eat.

Obviously it's a personal choice thing and I think there are enough carcingens to be dodging than willingly adding more which may have some consequeces later on down the line.

I have to work with potential carcingogens most days but I do it in a safe manner so as not to put myself as risk ie I don't eat them. (when I know about them )

JohnC.

jor el wrote: »

Farmers have been spreading slurry, human waste, on fields of grass, which is then eaten by cows, pigs, sheep, etc, for decades

Slurry is animal waste, not human. At least, the many farmers I know have never had human waste included. Also, it isn't like the animals are let into the field to eat right after it is spread on. It is used to fertilise the field to make the grass grow. The cows are let in after it has grown. Otherwise there wouldn't be much point. It won't be on the grass, but will have long since been absorbed into the ground to "feed" the grass.

311

It's worrying how smug some people are about this problem ,it's going to affect us all financially for more than the price of a refund.
Whinging and moaning about it is only going to prolong the situation.
We all have to chip in on this one ,whether we like it or not.

jor el

Kahless wrote: »

Slurry is animal waste, not human.

Animal waste being much cleaner than human waste of course.

Kahless wrote: »

At least, the many farmers I know have never had human waste included.

Farmers empty household septic tanks all the time.

Kahless wrote: »

Also, it isn't like the animals are let into the field to eat right after it is spread on. It is used to fertilise the field to make the grass grow. The cows are let in after it has grown. Otherwise there wouldn't be much point. It won't be on the grass, but will have long since been absorbed into the ground to "feed" the grass.

So you're saying it's OK to use waste to feed the grass, which feeds the animals, but not OK to use the treated, recycled waste, to feed the animals directly? It's not as though the pigs were being given buckets of raw sewage to munch down on now, is it?

JohnC.

jor el wrote: »

So you're saying it's OK to use waste to feed the grass, which feeds the animals, but not OK to use the treated, recycled waste, to feed the animals directly? It's not as though the pigs were being given buckets of raw sewage to munch down on now, is it?

I don't recall saying that, no...

And it's not like the grass is full of sewage either. It's just ordinary grass.

Besides, the problem here is that it wasn't properly treated to begin with.