South Korea halts Chilean pork quarantine

South Korea will temporarily halt quarantine inspections on all Chilean pork following the discovery of a third package of dioxin-tainted meat, the government has announced.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it found two packages totalling 11 tonnes of pork that had more than permissible levels of the toxic compound.

The level of dioxin reached 6.2-8.3 picograms of the cancer-causing substance in the fat, surpassing the 2-picogram limit set by Seoul and the maximum 1 picogram, equivalent to one trillionth of a gram, established by the European Union.

Authorities said the latest discovery of tainted meat involves a third meat packer, indicating that there may be a systemic problem with meat being exported by the South American country. This meat exporter had already shipped 832 tonnes of pork to South Korea this year.

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