German agricultural officials have given 3,050 farms the go-ahead to resume sales after originally closing down more than 4,700 facilities in response to the dioxin contamination of livestock feed from Harles & Jentzsch GmbH.
The number of farms still awaiting the go-ahead from inspectors currently stands at 1,635. "The situation has eased ...but there can't be an all-clear yet," said Agriculture Ministry spokesman Holger Eichele. In response to Germany's actions, Slovakia has lifted its ban on German farm products, though South Korea has halted all imports of German pork and poultry and Britain has stopped selling quiches and cakes made with German eggs.
Government officials are still investigating the contaminated feed and are looking into legal action against Harles & Jentzsch. "The judiciary has to clamp down hard here," said Agriculture Minister Isle Aigner.
