Trader training update: Irish pork products 'recalled'

The Irish stock market could be affected after all pork products were recalled in the country following tests in which samples of the meat were found to be contaminated with dioxins which can lead to cancer.

Supermarkets across the UK also took Irish pork products off their shelves as a precautionary measure.

The source of the contamination was animal feed which was used by 36 farms throughout Ireland, 29 of which produced pork while the rest produced beef.

Official figures show that the UK imported 15,000 tonnes of pork and bacon from Ireland between April and July.

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury's commented: "We don't get any pork or bacon from the Republic of Ireland. It's British, Dutch or Danish."

Professor Alan Boobis, head of Imperial College London's Department of Health Toxicology Unit, said that past studies suggest the dioxins do not affect humans in the same way as animals.

"Exposure at an elevated level over a month or so would not do any damage," he said.