Authorities have found more traces of the antibiotic Nitrofuran in produce from Thailand, the Hesse state social affairs ministry said. About 2.2 tonnes of tainted poultry meat and sea food were put on sale, while 20 tonnes of poultry and 450 kilogrammes of shrimp were seized in May and stored at Frankfurt airport, the ministry said. However, Hesse state veterinarian Stefan Hoenig said there was little danger to consumers. Nitrofuran antibiotics are banned from veterinary use in the European Union because they are believed to increase the risk of contracting cancer, but they are usually only dangerous when consumed in large quantities. Hoenig said the produce stocked in Frankfurt had been destroyed and that the tainted seafood had been returned to suppliers. But the ministry was trying to establish how the 2.2 tonnes of produce had escaped the notice of the authorities, he said. The food was checked in Germany on June 6, well after the EU ordered controls to be made on produce from Thailand at the end of March. On Monday, the ministry said it had not warned the public about other Thai food produce tainted with Nitrofuran that it had found four weeks ago because the risks to consumers were considered minimal. In February, German health authorities warned consumers against eating a brand of prawns imported from Asia that contained traces of the antibiotic Chloramphenicol.:
