Senator Girardi alleges that cattle and fish could also be contaminated

SANTIAGO.- According to PPD Senator Guido Gerardi, the high levels of dioxin that have been detected by pig farmers could be due to a “lack of supervision” on the part of the government, even more so after it has been revealed that beef, milk, eggs, cheese and fresh water fish may also be contaminated.

Girardi added that it is understandable that, “the Ministry of Health does not want to cause public alarm” about this.

“I believe that it is urgent that Chile build a laboratory, which costs 500 million pesos, where it can take samples from all over the country (…) We have to try to identify where the products they (the contaminated products) were sold or at least identify with certainty which ones are not contaminated”, Girardi said during a conversation with ORBE.

The senator added that the products with above normal levels of dioxin are coming from the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth regions, and that is why “there have to be guidelines established to regulate the quality of the food products, because right now there aren’t any and that seems quite strange to me”.