SAMPLES OF EGGS, BEEF AND PORK SOLD IN CANADA IN THE PAST TWO YEARS
 CONTAINED  DANGEROUS POLLUTANTS
 September 16, 2002
 Montreal La Presse/ Globe and Mail
 MONTREAL -- According to these stories, Montreal La Presse obtained an unpublished report by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency which found that eight out of ten samples of pork, beef and cheese contained chemical byproducts known as dioxins. Canadian law stipulates that no such chemicals should be present in food.
The agency study says levels of P-C-B's and other chemical byproducts found in samples of eggs imported from the U-S were up to 18 times higher than internationally-accepted limits. The standard measurement set by the World Health Organization allows for a maximum five picograms of toxic agents (or five parts per trillion)
per gram of fat in foods, at which point they should be withdrawn from the market.
According to the study, levels as high as 53 picograms of dioxins were found in pork samples, 20 in Canadian eggs, 23 in beef and 12 in cheese. The study examines various food samples throughout 2001 and was completed earlier this year. When compared with studies conducted in the European Community, eggs from the United States and beef produced in Canada were far more contaminated than those tested in Europe. Canadian poultry was found to have the lowest levels of toxic agents, with levels of dioxins two to
three times lower than those in Europe.