S. Korea halts quarantine inspections of Irish pork

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 8 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government said Monday that it has
temporarily halted all quarantine inspections of Irish pork after Dublin said it
discovered a cancer-causing compound in its domestic product.
The move effectively blocks all imports and calls on local importers and
distributors to recall products held in storage facilities and sold on the
market, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
It also said orders have been issued to the National Veterinary Research and
Quarantine Service to track the distribution network of all Irish pork that may
have been contaminated with the chemical compound dioxin and asks regional
administrations to ban sales.
Dioxin is a compound that can damage the human immune system and cause cancer in
humans.
The ministry, meanwhile, said 15 separate shipments totaling 335 tons of pork
from the European nation entered South Korea this year with 90 tons produced
after Sept. 1, meat which runs the greatest risk of contamination.
Irish authorities said late last week that they found 1.5 picograms of the
cancer-causing substance in pork fat and ordered a full recall of all products.
One picogram is equivalent to one trillionth of a gram.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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