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Dioxin traced to oil supplier

BERLIN, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- German investigators are trying to determine if the company that appears responsible for dioxin-contaminated animal feed broke the law, officials said Friday.

Officials said the contamination originated in the Harles and Jentzsch plant in Schleswig-Holstein, which sent oils for biofuels to manufacturers of animal feed, the BBC reported. As much as 150,000 tons of contaminated feed may have been consumed by animals.

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"The first indications point to a high level of illegal activity," a spokesman for Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said. "There are indications that the company was not even officially registered, in order not to expose itself to official controls."

Officials said the level of dioxin didn't pose a health risk to humans and the closure of more than 4,700 farms, mostly pig operations in the Lower Saxony region, was a precaution, the BBC said. They will remain closed until they've been checked and cleared of contamination.

The European Union issued a warning that eggs from farms affected by dioxin entered Britain in products meant for human consumption. The warning said the eggs were shipped to the Netherlands for processing then to the United Kingdom where they likely are to be used in the production of items such as mayonnaise and pastries.

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The dioxin scare prompted South Korea to block imports of German pork and poultry products from reaching consumers, South Korean media reported.

Last week, more than 1,000 German farms were prohibited from selling eggs after dioxin was found in the eggs and poultry products.

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