Ireland's Problem Is Our Problem

Remember I said that dioxins found in Irish pork, beef (and likely dairy foods) may as well be considered, in today's global food market, a local happening?

Marler is blogging about, and the USDA has a press release on just this thing:

"[Dioxin-contaminated] pork products were produced in Ireland between Sept. 1 and Dec. 7, 2008, and were then exported to the United States. These products were sent to retail stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia."
- New York Firm Recalls Fresh Pork Products Due To Possible Dioxin Contamination, USDA Food Safety And Inspection Service (FSIS), December 11

FSIS also said:

"FSIS believes the probability of adverse health effects related to consumption of these pork products to be low."

I don't concur. Exposure to environmental pollutants such as PCBs have been linked to an increased risk for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease - even in the absence of overweight or obesity.

Ireland's Food Safety Authority said:

"The levels in the feed were very high. The levels in the pork itself were in the region of about 80-200 times above the safe limits."
- Irish Republic Recalls All Pork

This is a good time to share the results of a study that appeared a few months ago in Diabetes Care.

For 9 months between 1978 and 1979 in Central Taiwan, people consumed cooking oil that was contaminated with dioxins. Researchers found that women who consumed the oil had between a 2 to 5.5 times higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and a 3.5 times higher risk for developing hypertension later in life (24 year follow-up):
Increased Risk of Diabetes and Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Dioxins, Diabetes Care, August 2008.
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