History of Europe

Ten years ago, the dioxin scandal shook Germany

At the beginning of 2011, a dioxin scandal shook the republic. On January 3rd there is a mass killing of laying hens, tens of thousands of eggs are destroyed. The economic damage is in the millions.

by Stefanie Grossmann

When the Wulfa-Mast company from Dinklage in the Vechta district made a voluntary disclosure to the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) in December 2010, those responsible in politics, business and consumer protection had no idea which districts were responsible for the excessive dioxin levels, which Feed were found would pull. The cause of the contamination is feed fat contaminated with dioxin, which is produced during the production of biodiesel. This waste product may be used as animal feed "declared and sampled". In this case, that was possibly not done, says the then spokesman for the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture, Gert Hahne, after the scandal became known.

What is dioxin?

Dioxins are chemical, highly toxic compounds.

The substance has been known since the chemical accident in Seveso, Italy, in 1976 at the latest. At that time, up to three kilograms of tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) were released in a factory. People in the area fall ill with chloracne, plants and animals die. Even small amounts are harmful to health:dioxin is considered carcinogenic, it damages the nervous and immune systems and changes the genetic material. The toxic substance also accumulates in the fatty tissue of humans and animals. In animal experiments, the so-called Seveso toxin was fatal even at a millionth of a gram. In addition, dioxin has a very long half-life of ten years. Dioxins are produced during chemical processes, but also during fires or frying. Humans and animals ingest around 90 percent of the toxic substance through food.

The story of one of the biggest food scandals in Germany reads like a business thriller about adulteration, cover-up and a lack of responsibility on the part of animal feed manufacturers. Simply about criminal activity without regard to the well-being of people and animals.

Harles and Jentzsch sells contaminated feed oil

The dioxin scandal came from the company Harles and Jentzsch in Schlewsig-Holstein. She mixed industrial fats with animal feed.

One day after the self-disclosure of the feed producer Wulfa-Mast, the Lower Saxony authorities checked the supplier lists - and identified the company Harles and Jentzsch from Uetersen near Itzehoe in Schleswig-Holstein as the manufacturer of the feed oil, which was actually intended for paper production. The partner forwarding company Lübbe from Bösel in Lower Saxony took over the further processing and delivery.

When the responsible Ministry of Agriculture found out about the process on December 23, it immediately informed 22 companies supplied by Wulfa-Mast - also in North Rhine-Westphalia - and ordered spot checks. The sale of eggs from the affected farms will be stopped.

Tens of thousands of eggs in hazardous waste, hens slaughtered

As a result of the dioxin scandal, pig farmers had to accept high losses for which no one was liable.

But the contaminated animal feed has long been distributed across the country, contaminated eggs or meat are likely to have ended up on consumers' plates. At the beginning of January 2011, tens of thousands of eggs in Lower Saxony were disposed of as hazardous waste, and around 8,000 laying hens were slaughtered on a chicken farm in Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia. More than 100,000 eggs have already been sold. In Thuringia, the authorities are looking for piglets that are contaminated with dioxin. By this time hundreds of animals had probably already been sold across Europe.

Raid on the business premises of the Lübbe shipping company

From now on, the authorities in Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein will work closely together. Due to their quick action, a self-disclosure by the chemical company Harles and Jentzsch, which wanted to avoid such an accusation, came too late. On January 5, police and prosecutors raid Harles and Jentzsch's offices to secure evidence. The Lübbe shipping company also receives a visit from the Oldenburg public prosecutor's office. Here the feed fats contaminated with dioxin were mixed and delivered to pig farmers, poultry farmers and chicken farms.

Dioxin scandal hits Lower Saxony hardest

And the dimensions of the disaster are becoming ever greater:up to 3,000 tons of fat contaminated with dioxin found its way into the compound feed of laying hens, fattening poultry and pigs. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture is already assuming this on January 4th. In total, up to 150,000 tons of animal feed can be enriched with it. As a result, 4,700 fattening farms in 13 federal states are affected. Lower Saxony is particularly hard hit - 2,500 tons of contaminated feed ended up in compound feed here. 4,500 farms have to close as a precaution.

Illegal activities:companies circumvent government controls

Despite the lack of approval, the forwarding company Lübbe mixed and delivered feed fats in Bösel in Lower Saxony.

But that's not all:investigations show that the contaminated animal feed has been on the market since March 2010. New tests in the feed fat from Harles and Jentzsch reveal a poison dose that is almost 78 times the permitted level. According to investigations, the forwarding company Lübbe also acted with intent and illegally mixed the fats - and thus escaped any state control. "The company was only registered with us as a forwarding agent and not for mixing fats." According to a statement by LAVES, this is punishable by law. According to an EU regulation, feed companies have been obliged to register with the responsible feed control authority since 2005. Those who receive approval appear in the Federal Gazette of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. You can only check the companies that are officially registered. If this does not happen, adulteration cannot be detected either. "At the moment, the indications are that there is a high degree of criminal activity," according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture at the beginning of January 2011.

Dioxin fear:Consumers don't buy eggs

In January 2011, employees of the State Office for Consumer Protection determined that dioxin levels in eggs were too high.

Two weeks after the scandal was uncovered, 3,000 farms have been reopened, mostly pig farmers. Chicken farms will initially remain closed. Because there are still new dioxin finds. That's why consumers in this country are leaving the goods on the shelves, the price of pork is falling and many family businesses are suffering high losses. Even abroad, German products no longer find buyers. For example, China is stopping the import of pork and eggs.

Despite the discovery of dioxin, no criminal proceedings against Harles and Jentzsch

The scandal is increasingly revealing the weaknesses of the system:there are too few controls on the approximately 1,700 animal feed companies in Germany. And the wheels of justice grind slowly:Only after two years did the Itzehoe public prosecutor bring charges against the two managing directors of Harles and Jentzsch - not because of the dioxin finds, but "for fraud and offenses against the Food and Feed Code in 102 cases". But the large criminal chamber of the Itzehoe District Court did not open criminal proceedings - on the grounds that the accused did not know anything about a possible contamination. A complaint by the public prosecutor's office is dismissed. After a judgment by the Higher Regional Court of Oldenburg in September 2013, there is a glimmer of hope for the damage caused to laying hen farms that had fed them feed contaminated with dioxin. A farmer receives 43,000 euros in damages. But just over a year later, disillusionment followed when the Federal Constitutional Court overturned the verdict.

Anti-dioxin plan for more food safety?

In the wake of the dioxin scandal, Ilse Aigner, then Federal Minister of Agriculture, wanted to control animal feed manufacturers more strictly.

According to the German Farmers' Association, the dioxin scandal at the turn of the year 2010/11 caused economic damage of 100 million euros. But there are hardly any political consequences, i.e. no resignations of those responsible in the federal and state governments. The government at the time only decided on stricter feed controls and the requirement to separate the production of feed and industrial fat. In addition, in future the names of animal feed companies may be mentioned even if there is only a suspicion of an inadmissibly high level of dioxin contamination.

Harles and Jenztsch files for bankruptcy

Nevertheless, the bankruptcy proceedings opened in May 2011 by Harles and Jentzsch, who were primarily responsible for the disaster, were of little consolation to the farmers and consumers affected. As late as 2013, farmers are still complaining that animal feed companies are still not providing clear evidence of where the fats and oils used come from. Although they propose a simple solution:color coding of industrial and feed fats, as is the case with diesel and heating oil.

The Dioxin Scandal - A Chronology

21. December 2010:Feed manufacturer discovers increased dioxin levels in animal feed

The compound feed manufacturer Wulfa-Mast from Dinklage in Lower Saxony has filed a voluntary report with the Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES). The reason for this is increased dioxin levels in feed for laying hens. The contaminated feed fat comes from the company Harles and Jentzsch in Uetersen in Schleswig-Holstein.

23. December 2010:First farms stop selling eggs

LAVES informs the Ministry of Agriculture about the feed contaminated with dioxin. Establishments that have used this feed are no longer allowed to sell eggs.

3. January 2011:Thousands of laying hens are slaughtered

On a chicken farm in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, around 8,000 laying hens are culled because of dioxin-contaminated feed. More than 100,000 contaminated eggs had already been sold at this point. As a precaution, Lower Saxony is blocking around 1,000 farms. Other federal states are also affected.

4. January 2011:Dioxin-contaminated piglets are already on sale

Authorities in Thuringia are looking for piglets contaminated with dioxin. Hundreds of animals are believed to have been sold across Europe. The Itzehoe public prosecutor's office is investigating those responsible for the animal feed manufacturer Harles and Jentzsch from Uetersen.

5. January 2011:The extent of the dioxin scandal becomes known

The federal government assumes that up to 3,000 tons of dioxin-contaminated fat were mixed into the feed of laying hens, fattening poultry and pigs. Up to 150,000 tons of animal feed have been contaminated with it. The goods went to 25 feed manufacturers in at least four federal states.

6. January 2011:4,700 farms affected by closures

At least twelve federal states are now affected. Around 4,700 farms are closed.

7. January 2011:Contaminated animal feed has been on the market since March 2010

It is known that dioxin-contaminated animal feed has been in circulation since March 2010. In the worst case, the dose of poison in new samples from Harles and Jentzsch was almost 78 times the permitted level.

9. January 2011:First businesses are released again

In Lower Saxony, around 3,000 blocked businesses are released again. 1,470 businesses will initially remain closed.

10. January 2011:Federal government contradicts Foodwatch

According to the organization Foodwatch, residues from pesticides are the cause of the high level of dioxin contamination in animal feed. The Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection rejects this as speculation.

11. January 2011:Too high dioxin levels in pork

A test slaughter of pigs on a farm in Lower Saxony shows that the dioxin limit was exceeded by half.

12. January 2011:Harles and Jentzsch files for bankruptcy

The meat from pigs fattened with dioxin-contaminated feed is likely to have been traded. Harles and Jentzsch files for bankruptcy.

14. January 2011:Plans for future controls

Test results show that one in four eggs examined contains too much dioxin. Federal Minister of Agriculture Ilse Aigner (CSU) presents plans for future, stricter controls. Critics want to separate responsibility for agricultural policy and consumer protection.