All pork products from Ireland have been recalled after toxic substances were found in pig carcasses.

The crisis has been caused by a contaminated ingredient added to pork feed which was provided to ten farms in Ireland. The farms affected provide about ten per cent of the total pork produced in the country. European supermarkets were required to clear their shelves of all Irish produced pork, ham, bacon and sausages on the weekend in response to the issue.

The Government and food authorities have stressed the move was a precautionary one and indicated pork products could be back on sale within days.

The complete recall is devastating to the farming industry in Ireland with the all important Christmas season ahead. And, with consumer confidence likely to take time to be restored, many pig farmers will be facing a struggle to stay afloat in the next year.

“We’re actually reeling in shock at the moment at the scale of this disaster,” Tim Cullinan, a pig farmer and an official with the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), told Irish state radio RTE. “It couldn’t have come at worse time… It’s a nightmare, to be honest.”

Australia is not affected by the recall and pork producers here are not expected to reap any benefit from the disaster in Ireland as there is already a shortfall of pork for the domestic industry, according to Australian Pork Limited.

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