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OldDog/NewTricks

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Beef News
S. Korea finds toxic dioxin in U.S. beef shipment

by Tom Johnston on 12/22/2006 for Meatingplace.com

In what could further injure fragile trade negotiations, South Korea's national quarantine service said it discovered traces of toxic dioxin in one of the three U.S. beef shipments it rejected for containing banned bone fragments, Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday.

The report indicated the toxin was found in a package belonging to a 10.2-ton shipment of U.S. beef, which arrived in South Korea on Dec. 1. It also indicated Korea's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has notified the U.S. Embassy in Seoul of the discovery and requested clarification.

USDA officials could not be reached for comment Thursday, but the issue is resonating with members of the U.S. beef community.

Karen Batra, spokeswoman for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told Meatingplace.com the report could put a strain on free-trade talks and raises many questions, including why such testing was performed on a shipment that had already been rejected.

"I'd hope it's a question our government officials are going to ask Korea," Batra said. "Right now, everyone's hands are in the air and can't call heads or tails on it. It's a really unusual development."

South Korea's quarantine service said the dioxin level was 6.26 picograms, which exceeds the 5-picogram limit established by Seoul. One picogram equals a trillionth of one gram.

Dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known to man, is formed by burning chlorine-based chemical compounds with hydrocarbons. Scientists say a North American who eats a typical North American diet will receive 93 percent of their dioxin exposure from eating meat and dairy products.

Note:
93% of our exposure but what is our total dioxin exposure.
93% of safe dose or 932% of a unsafe dose?
 
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