The dioxin contamination incident in Ireland, 2008: analytical results and congener patterns

A porcine fat sample taken as part of the national residues monitoring programme in 2008 led to the detection of a major feed contamination incidence in the Republic of Ireland. The source of the contamination was traced back to the use of contaminated oil in a direct-drying feed operation system. Congener profiles in animal fat and feed samples showed a high level of consistency and pinpointed the likely source of fuel contamination to be a highly chlorinated commercial PCB mixture.