August 8, 2012
Denmark seizes 1,000 kilogrammes banned antibiotic shipment
About 1,000 kilogrammes of the illegal antibiotic virginiamycin has been seized by the Intelligence and Inspection Service of the Dutch Food Safety Authority (NVWA-IOD) while searching a transhipment building in North Brabant province.
They found the shipment after Belgian authorities informed NVWA of the possibility of a large volume of illegal antibiotics being put up for sale in the Netherlands.
First information showed that the antibiotics were to be used as growth promoters in animal feed. However, it is also possible that the virginiamycin was stored for further shipment outside the EU, which in essence is not an illegal activity, but must always be reported to the authorities.
Virginiamycin has been banned for use in animal feeds in the EU since 1998, because it is known that it can lead to bacterial resistance to the antibiotic. However, in some countries outside the EU it is still permitted.