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`Eggs in India carry high levels of dioxins'

Staff Reporter

Samples from 17 countries tested at a Czech lab

NEW DELHI: Dioxins are one of most poisonous chemicals known to man and they have found their way to our dining tables. A recent report complied by non-government organisation Toxics Link as part of the worldwide campaign `Keep The Promise, Eliminate Persistent Organic Pollutants' (POPs) initiated by the International POPs Elimination Network has found new evidence that chicken eggs in India carry high levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

The dioxin levels were found to be 5.5 times higher than the European Union safe dioxin limit for eggs and the samples collected exceed the limit for PCBs by 4.7 times. The test results revealed the presence of the most toxic of dioxins, which form a family of 210 compounds. Dioxins act as powerful hormone-disrupting chemicals and literally modify the genetic mechanism of the cell in human beings, which causes a wide range of negative effects, from cancer to reduced immunity to nervous system disorder, miscarriage and birth deformity.

As part of the survey, the Indian samples were collected from near Queen Mary's Hospital's medical waste incinerator in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and were collectively tested along with other samples at Axys Varilaba, a Czech laboratory, which meets World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria for testing limits.

Chicken eggs from 17 countries across five continents were examined for harmful chemicals. The aim of the study was to explore whether free-range chicken eggs might contain unintentional POPs, if collected from near potential sources of the same.

The study is particularly relevant to India as there are no standard guidelines to breed and feed poultry in the country.

In comparison to other countries from where samples were collected, Indian egg samples were found to contain more than five-fold the level of dioxin than samples from some other countries.

According to the study, an interesting point to be noted was the fact that toxic contents have been found in egg samples from all countries studied so far, clearly pointing to the global nature of the problem. "Although this study represents the first data about POPs in chicken eggs from India, evidence of dioxins finding their way into the food chain is not new," explained researcher Toxics Link, Ratna Singh. Similar studies have found higher dioxin levels in butter and fish.

Chicken eggs were chosen for the study as they are among the most commonly available food item and their fat content makes them appropriate for monitoring chemicals.

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