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Food contamination by PCBs and dioxins

Nature volume 401, pages 231–232 (1999)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 30 September 1999

An isolated episode in Belgium is unlikely to have affected public health.

Abstract

In February 1999, a poisoning episode broke out in several poultry farms in Belgium. The Belgian authorities took immediate safeguards to protect public health and implemented a large-scale food-monitoring programme. Here we analyse the scale of the contamination and assess the likelihood of its adversely affecting the health of the general population.

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Figure 1: Dioxin and PCB congeners in contaminated Belgian poultry.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Toxicology, Catholic University of Louvain, 30.54 Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs, Brussels, 1200, Belgium

    A. Bernard, C. Hermans & F. Broeckaert

  2. Belgian Federal Ministery of Agriculture, WTC3 Boulevard S. Bolivar 30, Brussels, 1000, Belgium

    G. De Poorter, A. De Cock & G. Houins

Authors
  1. A. Bernard
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  2. C. Hermans
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  3. F. Broeckaert
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  4. G. De Poorter
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  5. A. De Cock
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  6. G. Houins
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Bernard.

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Bernard, A., Hermans, C., Broeckaert, F. et al. Food contamination by PCBs and dioxins. Nature 401, 231–232 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/45717

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