Conor Popeoutlines advice to consumers on safety issues with pork products they may have bought and their rights
I have just bought a vacuum -packed Christmas ham. Is it safe to eat?
It might be safe to eat but you still have to get rid of it. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said that it is "vital" consumers dispose of all pork products bought after September 1st.
But if the negative effects of the contamination are cumulative, surely the last couple of sausages in the fridge are safe to eat?
Again, they might be safe to eat, but doing so runs contrary to the official advice. An FSAI spokeswoman said that while any possible risk to consumer health from the contamination was extremely low, the advice had to be black and white and could leave no room for contradictions.
Are organic products affected?
The recall affects all pork and bacon products, including organic which will only be given the green light by inspectors once it's verified that it is safe.
What products are affected by the recall?
All pork, bacon, rashers, pork sausages, sausage meat, gammon steaks, offal from pigs, salami, ham, sausage rolls, black and white pudding, soups and ready meals with Irish pork/bacon as an ingredient have to be destroyed or returned to the point of purchase. Less obvious products such as pork-based patés and products made with pork suet including some Christmas puddings and some pastries also have to go.
So, I just throw it all in the bin?
That is one option. A spokeswoman for the FSAI says it has been advised by the Environmental Protection Agency that there were no issues in connection with consumers disposing of pork products as part of their normal household waste. The dioxin levels in the affected pork would not have any environmental impact with more, naturally occurring, dioxins found in other refuse particularly coal and woodfire ashes.
For their part, retailers have been asked not to put recalled products in landfill but to return them to the supply chain where they could be rendered as part of normal animal waste disposal programmes.
Can I get a refund on pork products returned?
Yes. Consumers should have the option of returning any pork products to the point of sale where they can get a refund. The onus is on manufacturers and their distributors to sell products which are safe.
If they believe - or are told, as in this case - that a product is potentially hazardous they should take steps to protect their customers.
In addition, under consumer law, you are also entitled to a refund from the shop if you buy a defective product - and all pork currently on Irish shelves has been deemed defective.
So, who pays?
It will probably be the suppliers who ultimately pay.
While the consumer has the right to return the product to the supermarket, the supermarkets in turn can return it to their suppliers.
When a similar dioxin contamination occurred in Belgium nearly 10 years ago, the government there picked up the tab but when Mary Harney was asked on Saturday night if the Government might do likewise here, she said no.
If only nine farms were supplied with the pig feed, why does all pork have to be destroyed?
While the number of farms affected may have been small - there are around 400 pig farms in the State - the volume of pork produce at those farms is not. Although only 10 per cent of pigmeat has been affected, it has been processed with approximately 80 per cent of the total pig meat produced since September.
In addition, pig meat goes everywhere - intestines may be shipped to one factory for sausage product, offal to another factory, ribs to a third, blood products to a different factory and on and on.
To ensure that there were no lingering side-effects of the current contamination scare, a decision was taken to take everything out of circulation and start again.
Will it be long before Irish pork is back on the shelves?
There is some meat which was completely unaffected and it will be selling in the next couple of days. Pig producers who were not supplied with the contaminated feed are hoping to have fresh pig meat available within a matter of days although it is not yet clear if that is a realistic target.
What about the beef sector, wasn't the feed sent to a number of beef farms and is it safe to eat?
Contaminated feed did find its way to 38 beef farms across the country as well but experts have said that because cattle are larger and less reliant on pre-prepared feeds than pigs, the risk of the dioxin levels reaching unsafe levels are unlikely. According to the FSAI, tests on beef have been negative.