A Dutch state agency is launching an €8 million compensation claim against the Irish operation of a pharmaceutical multinational over the contamination of pig feed two years ago with human hormones. Liam Reid reports.
The case is the latest in a series of claims against Wyeth Medica Ireland (WMI), which found itself at the centre of the scare when contaminated sugar water from its Newbridge, Co Kildare, plant found its way into pig feed in Holland and Belgium.
A total of 55,000 pigs were culled during the scare in July 2002, while half of the 7,000 pig farmers in the Netherlands and Belgium had to shut down operations temporarily.
Now Productschappen Vee, the Dutch meat and livestock board, has confirmed it intends to serve papers in a Dutch court next month on Wyeth Medica Ireland, and the Irish waste firm it used, Cara Environmental Technology.
Wyeth and Cara have both denied any responsibility for the scare, and have indicated they will contest any law suits.
A spokesman for Productschappen Vee said the board had incurred significant costs after it provided aid to farmers affected by the food scare.
Although 15 farmers were affected directly, the spokesman said that "many more were affected by indirect losses through lower prices and damage to excellent markets".
The contamination arose after sugar water, used to coat contraceptive pills, was exported to Belgium through Irish waste company, Cara, for recycling.
It was classified as "green-list" waste, which indicates the waste poses no environmental threat.
It was sent to a now bankrupt Belgian company, Bioland, which processed the waste into a sugar syrup for use in animal feed.
In May 2002 it emerged that pigs in Holland were experiencing fertility difficulties, and the problem was traced back to the contaminated feed.