Belgian farmers were yesterday threatened with a new crisis following reports that toxins up to 50 times the permitted level had been found at pig farms across the country.
High levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a known carcinogen, were found at 70 pig farms, according to a report published yesterday by the daily De Morgen.
The Belgian Health Minister, Ms Magda Alvoet, said several of the farms had been barred from selling their products and later confirmed that 300 extra pig farms would be shut down.
The source of the PCBs was not immediately clear. The farms had not bought contaminated animal feed from companies cited in an earlier food contamination scare, the report said.
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Jaak Gabriels, said several hundred pork farms could be added to a list of 800 pork farms where the sale of produce has been banned following the dioxin scare.
Eight companies are suspected of supplying feed contaminated with cancer-causing dioxin to Belgian farms in January.
The dioxin scare caused countries worldwide to ban Belgian meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products.