German pig farms cleared in furazolidone scare
The seven pig farms that were blocked in the furazolidone feed scare have been cleared. This was stated by the German food safety authorities.
The German pig farms were in contact with Dutch feed that contained possible traces of the banned antibiotic furazolidone. Tests showed no traces at the farms, so the authorities released the farms. This means that they can sell the animals again and that the pigs don’t have to be culled. Also no pigs had to be culled in the Netherlands, as the Dutch Food Safety Authority (NVWA) found no traces of the banned antibiotic furazolidone.
Furazolidone is an antibiotic banned in Europe since 1995 because its break down product can be carcinogenic. In April of this year, traces were found at Dutch veal calf farms and later (July) also pig farms came into the picture. As a result, 97 farms (with a total of more than 50,000 pigs) in the Netherlands were blocked due to them having been fed with contaminated feed. The feed contained traces of the banned antibiotic furazolidone, and was supplied by Kats Food and Feed and sold to a number of feed companies, that again sold the feed to cattle and pig farms.
The feed scare might be over for the pig industry, it is not over yet for some dairy farms in Germany. One farm is still blocked and some farmers are waiting for the results of feed samples.
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