Contaminated Belgian products
Contaminated Belgian products
The Embassy of Belgium would like to rectify some wrong
information to Indonesian consumers following the contamination
of some Belgian products with dioxin.
Some supermarkets and retailers in Jakarta and elsewhere in
the country are currently putting up signs assuring their
customers that no Belgian products are sold in their stores. Some
even go so far as to imply that all Belgian products contain
dioxin, a substance that carries a serious health hazard. By
doing so, a completely wrong impression and unnecessary fear is
created among Indonesian customers. It is only right to provide
Indonesian customers with accurate information.
The dioxin contamination in Belgium occurred during the
production process of animal feed destined for poultry, eggs,
pork, beef and dairy products. It is therefore only in those
sectors that there is a potential for contamination. The
contamination, which according to the latest scientific evidence
concerns one gram of dioxin, started accidentally in January when
a certain lubricant got into nine food mills, thereby passing
possibly contaminated feed to 1488 poultry, pork and cattle
farms. The products of these farms thus carry the risk of
contamination.
Since the discovery of the contamination, the Belgium
authorities have spared no effort to trace all products that
might have been in touch with the contaminated batch of feed. An
extensive emergency program whereby every single company is
thoroughly checked is still underway to make absolutely sure that
every product for consumption is 100 percent safe.
Only those producers whose products now comply with the
strictest safety standards receive a certificate, sanctioned by
the European Union, allowing them to sell and export their
products. Since June 17, the situation in Belgium and Europe has
been normalized. All above-mentioned suspect products were
immediately removed from the shelves and destroyed.
As far as Indonesia is concerned, the Ministry of Health
published a list of products from four European countries, among
them Belgium, of which the sale is not allowed in Indonesia. The
Indonesian authorities thereby fully respected the scientific
evidence and limited its ban to those products only where there
is a risk of contamination. At the same time random tests were
and still are taken to detect possible dioxin contamination in
imported Belgian products. Until now all tests proved negative.
The sale of some products on the lists has already been freed,
and assurances are given that new Belgian products with the
necessary certificates of health will be allowed again on the
Indonesian market. In the meantime, the removal of suspect
products has been ordered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade:
The order only concerns poultry, eggs, pork, beef and dairy
products imported since January 19, 1999.
While expressing their sincere regrets for the anxiety caused
to consumers and customers of Belgian food products, the Belgian
authorities want to stress again their determination to clarify
this situation in a spirit of openness and good faith. Only then
will confidence come back to the markets and consumers. The
Belgian authorities, together with the Belgian food industry and
competent European authorities, are fully committed to entirely
solve the problem within the shortest possible delay.
PETER L CLAES
Charge d'Affaires a.i.
Belgian Embassy,
Jakarta