Germany - German prosecutors say the country's food crisis is likely a premeditated criminal act, saying they consider bringing criminal charges against the company responsible for contaminating animal feed with toxic dioxin.

The food crisis in Germany deepened after over 4,700 farms were closed after tests showed animal feed was contaminated with toxic dioxin.

Authorities traced the origin of the feed contamination to a Schleswig-Holstein distributor of oils for animal feed production, which distributed fatty acids meant for industrial use to animal feed processors.

The crisis, however, was deepened after the state government in northern Schleswig-Holstein said some feed had been contaminated since March -- nine months earlier than previously thought.

Dioxins are highly toxic compounds formed by burning waste and other industrial processes. They have been shown to affect pregnant women, contributing to higher cancer rates in these individuals.

Authorities said earlier this week that 3,000 tons of feed had been contaminated.

An overly high concentrations of dioxin have been detected, for the first time, in meat samples, said a spokesman for Germany's Agriculture Ministry on Saturday.

He said on condition of anonymity that three chickens -- out of 15 samples of chicken, turkey and pork meat that have been sent to the EU Commission -- showed to have dioxin concentrations twice as high as legally allowed.

Excessive dioxin levels were previously discovered in eggs.

Eggs from some farms which used the feed were exported to Britain and the Netherlands for food processing, according to German and European Union authorities.

Officials, however, claimed the eggs pose little health risk to consumers.

SB/PKH/MMN

originally published in Press TV