THE Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has suspended the import and sale of all pork and pork products from Ireland.

Local importers and retailers should also recall all pork products from Ireland immediately, the AVA said in a statement on Sunday.

The AVA's recall comes shortly after the Irish government on Saturday recalled all domestically-produced pork products because of contamination with cancer-causing dioxin.

Laboratory results of animal feed and pork fat samples obtained on Saturday confirmed the presence of dioxins, it said, with toxins at 80-200 times the safe limits.

Dioxins are environmental contaminants that may be formed during combustion processes and may be present in industrial wastes. It is illegal for dioxins to be in food products.

'Following this announcement, and as a precautionary measure, AVA will be suspending the import and sale of all pork and pork products from Ireland with immediate effect pending further investigation by the Irish authority,' the AVA said.

Total import of pork and pork products from Ireland in the last three months was 516 tonnes, the statement said.

The AVA advises consumers who have bought pork products from Ireland to discard it and not consume the product. -- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM REUTERS

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Ireland recalls pork