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Poultry Scandal Spreads Beyond Germany

June 4, 2002

The scandal over contaminated animal feed in Germany continued to grow on Tuesday with the discovery that a banned pesticide had come from more than one source and that poultry tainted by Nitrofen may have been exported.

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A granary in eastern Germany wasn't the only source of a carcinogenic pesticide found in poultry.Image: AP

The agriculture ministry in the state of Mecklenburg West-Pomerania said on Tuesday that grain found to be contaminated with the herbicide Nitrofen came from more than one source.

Officials say tests show not all the contaminated grain had been stored at a granary in the eastern German town of Malchin, previously thought to be the only source of the contamination.

Officials said that, of the four contaminated samples taken at the Agri animal feed plant in Lower Saxony, only one was from Malchin.

Investigators also concluded that the concentration of Nitrofen in the samples indicates that the grain was contaminated during transport and not during storage as previously thought.

Meanwhile, German authorities are trying to trace possible consumers of poultry contaminated with Nitrofen, a known carcinogenic.

Some of the meat was also reportedly shipped to buyers in Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria. And in the port city of Bremen, at least twelve kindergartens received contaminated meat. But officials said it was unlikely the children's health had been affected.