The 2008 Irish Dioxin Crisis:Prevention is better than Crisis Management

英文关键词:Dioxin  Crisis management  Prevention  Food Safety  Risk Assessment, Ireland  

中文摘要:

      

英文摘要:

      In Ireland, in 2008, pig feed manufactured from recycled human food became contaminated with dioxin and this led to a global recall of all Irish pork products produced from 1st September to 6th December 2008. This case study illustrates several points a) the food chain is only as secure as its weakest link, b) due to the complexity of the modern food chain, once pork is processed, precise traceability to a particular farm of origin is impossible, c) even with a single food agency, overseeing the policing of the food chain, things can go wrong, d) it demonstrated the benefits of having credible consumer protection agencies to undertake scientific risk assessment and communicate with the public, e) if risk management decisions are taken quickly, and communicated in an open and transparent manner to the public, adverse human health effects can be avoided and consumer confidence can maintained, f) in the EU the legal limit for dioxins in pork fat is 1 picogram per gram (10-12 ) and attempting to communicate the risks associated with this level of contamination plus the concepts of bioaccumulation and body burden and the need for continued exposure to result in adverse health effects is extremely challenging, g) there was a major economic impact and damage to the country’s reputation as a food exporter and finally h) it illustrates that prevention is better that crisis management. Other countries can learn lessons from this incident that may prevent similar occurrences in their jurisdictions.