Dioxin control in animal feed

Dioxin has long been known as a powerful poison, it can cause many cancers such as liver, marrow, kidney, lung cancer; cause impaired immunity, abnormal embryo development, birth defects, cardiovascular disease, skin damage, diabetes, endocrine disorders.

What is Dioxin?

Dioxin is the common name for a group of over 200 substances named dioxins and dioxin-like substances. Among these, a substance that is considered to be most toxic is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCCD). When entering the body of animals and humans, dioxin accumulates in adipose tissue, muscle tissue and milk. Pregnant women and young children are very sensitive to dioxin toxicity. It takes 10 years for the body to eliminate half of the dioxin from the body.

Dioxin can be generated by burning industrial and agricultural wastes, by forest fires, by using gas... Some chlorine-containing wastes are found in PVC, in pesticides, in paper bleach... when burned, The released chlorine element will combine with carbon and form dioxins.

The main sources of dioxin contamination in animal feed and from there into the food chain are used engine oil and kaolin, a substance used extensively in the production of porcelain.

The safety levels of dioxins expressed as “tolerable daily intake” (TDI) differ slightly from country to country, but are at extremely low limits, ranging from 1 part to several parts of a trillion grams. (1 picrogram = 10-12g). Calculating per kilogram of human body weight, safe levels of dioxins are regulated in some countries as follows (from Our Food-Dabatase of Food & Related Sciences)::1 pg/kg body weight (Germany), 4 pg/ kg b.w. (Netherlands), 10 pg/kg b.w. (Canada), 0.03 pg/kg b.w (USA).

Dioxins are difficult to analyze. In dioxin compounds, PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) is always accompanied and easy to analyze and does not take as much time to analyze as dioxin, so PCB content is considered as an indicator of dioxin. If milk fat contains 0.1 pg/g PCB, it means there is a high level of dioxin contamination. Fat in egg yolks containing a maximum of 0.060 pg/g PCBs means that dioxin levels are within safe limits.

Dioxin in food

At the end of December 2010 in Germany, Dioxin contamination was detected in eggs and chicken, the dioxin level was determined to be twice the allowable level. The German veterinary agency believes that used engine oil has been mixed into chicken feed.

Taking oil samples from an animal feed company called Harles & Jentzsch in northern Germany, scientists found that out of 30 samples examined, 12 had Dioxin levels within safe limits, but up to 10 samples had dioxin levels between 0.66 and 58.17 nanograms, so some samples had dioxin levels 77 times higher than the allowed level (0.75 nanograms). This oil, which Harles & Jentzsch bought from a German distributor, has been used to add to animal feed and thereby make livestock products such as meat, eggs and, milk contaminated with Dioxins.

To prevent the risk of eating food contaminated with Dioxins, the German government ordered the closure of 4,700 farms; 8,000 laying hens and 10,000 eggs are destroyed, 1,700 liters of milk per day are dumped with an estimated loss of 40-60 million euros per week (AFP). South Korea has banned the import of pork and chicken products from Germany due to fear of Dioxin contamination, while Russia has announced it will tighten control measures on meat products from Germany and some European countries. may ban the import of the above products if deemed necessary.

The story of German eggs and meat contaminated with Dioxin in 2010 reminded people of the dioxin scandal in animal feed that occurred in Belgium in June 1999. Belgian cattle feed at that time was contaminated with Dioxin at high levels. high due to feeding mixed with used machine oil. When Belgian meat and food was exported to European countries, then the whole of Europe was considered to have carried PCBs and Dioxins.

Later Swiss feed was also found to be contaminated with Dioxins. The reason is that feed mills in this country have used kaolin to improve the flow rate of feed when pumping from one warehouse to another.

German Kaolin with high levels of dioxin has also been added to Austrian and German animal feed and animal products fed kaolin-fortified feed have dioxin levels 5-6 times higher than the permissible limit.

To prevent the risk of dioxin contamination into the food chain, it is necessary to block the pathways of Dioxin contamination into animal feed. Dioxin is found mainly in grease, so it is necessary to control it from grease. Do not use grease with high Dioxin content, especially bio-oil that has been used to run the machine, to put into animal feed. Fish oil poses a high risk of dioxin contamination if the water source is contaminated with Dioxins. Recently, a treatment system to reduce Dioxin contamination in fish oil with carbon and silicon adsorbents has been applied, this system has removed from 10-99% of Dioxins in fish oil, but the nutritional quality of the oil is still unharmed.

In addition to the above measures, other measures to reduce the pollution of the soil, water, and air environment to Dioxins are important, these environmental sources of Dioxins, especially industrial emissions, are the culprit causing Dioxin contamination of food.

Food testing service at Eurofins Sac Ky Hai Dang

Eurofins Sac Ky Hai Dang is proud to be a member of Eurofins Scientific Group, a leading scientific group in the world in the fields of food, feed, water, environmental and pharmaceutical testing. We have the capacity to test these criteria and are also designated by many major European importers as a quality control unit for agricultural products before exporting.

Eurofins Sac Ky Hai Dang is an independent testing laboratory are accredited by the BOA and the authorities competent state such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Natures Resources and Environment. We are ready to support exporters of Agricultural and Food products.

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