An episode of dioxin contamination in feedingstuff: the choline chloride case

In 2000, as part of a survey programme, the German authorities detected high levels of dioxins in a choline chloride (CC) premix used as animal food component. The contaminated additive consisted of different products of mineral and vegetable origin acting as a carrier. The CC was manufactured in Belgium. The final product was produced in and distributed from a plant in Spain. The German authorities informed all European Community members of the incident. The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Regional Authorities immediately conducted a survey in collaboration with the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) to determine and isolate the source of the contamination. Analysis of a large number of samples of pure CC, pine sawdust, almond shell and other substances currently used in the preparation of the premix confirmed the presence of a significant amount of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans in mixtures in which pine sawdust was present. An analysis of the congener profiles revealed similarities with those found in technical pentachlorophenol (PCP) formulations. The conclusion was that PCP-contaminated sawdust as carrier for CC was source of dioxin contamination in feedingstuff.