Dutch farmers today began slaughtering 50,000 pigs feared contaminated with an illegal hormone, and a group said it will seek compensation from two Irish companies.
Pig farms around The Netherlands were temporarily shut after infertile pigs on one farm were found last month to have been exposed to the hormone MPA, or Medroxyprogresterone acetate, used as a human contraceptive or hormone replacement in menopausal women.
The potential exposure was narrowed to pigs on 27 farms which had been fed a syrup mixture containing the hormone that originated in the Republic and was made into a feed additive produced in Belgium.
All pigs on those farms are to be destroyed over the next 10 days, and their bodies disposed of as waste material.
Mr Jack Luiten, a spokesman for the Dutch Agricultural and Horticultural Organisation said total damages to the farmers include not only the cost of the wasted pork, but also the temporary closure of most of the 14,000 Dutch pig farms during the past month.
"Costs will be in the tens of millions of euros at least, and probably over 100 million," he said. "We have decided to look where blame can be laid, and that is with those who are responsible for introducing MPA into the food chain."
The hormone's path into pig feed has been traced to Kildare-based Wyeth Medica, a pharmaceuticals manufacturer. In the process of sugarcoating pills, Wyeth produced hormone-laced waste water, which it turned over to Dublin-based waste management company Cara Environmental Technology for disposal.
Cara sold the sugar water to a now-bankrupt Belgian company called Bioland, which in turn passed it on as treacle to Dutch feed companies.
However, it remained unclear who in that chain knew the sugar water contained the hormone, and when.
Mr Luiten said the farmers' organisation believes Wyeth and Cara should have made sure the water was disposed of properly, and that it has sent them letters saying it holds them responsible for the farmers' damages. He said the companies have both denied responsibility in initial replies.
Wyeth spokesman Mr Peter O'Brian said his company properly informed Cara that its waste water contained MPA.
Cara could not immediately be reached for comment but has told investigators from the EPA it informed Bioland the sugar water contained MPA. In a report, the EPA said there is no evidence of this.
Wyeth Medica is the Irish subsidiary of US pharmaceutical company Wyeth, which was known as American Home Products until earlier this year.
Mr Kieran O'Byrne, a spokesman for Cara, said that Bioland "knew the water contained trace amounts of MPA at all times."
He said that Cara and Wyeth both had examined Bioland's Belgian facilities and believed the company was reputable and could correctly recycle the waste water.
"As far as we're concerned, we acted in good faith throughout," Mr O'Byrne said.
In a preliminary report in mid-July, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency said it couldn't find evidence that Cara had correctly informed Bioland of the presence of the hormone. The EPA also said it was considering citing Wyeth for not correctly disclosing how it was disposing of its waste.
The agency's final report has not yet been published.
AP