THE NETHERLANDS – Cees Veerman, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, has backed the country’s dairy industry by saying that its milk and dairy products should not be considered dangerous.

The minister spoke out in response to a blockade of around 200 Dutch farms, brought about due to a potential dioxin contamination link between the herds.

The scare has also hit France and Spain after the Dutch agricultural ministry said that two cows from one of the contaminated Dutch farms had been exported to Spain. The cancer-causing toxin was originally found in animal feed in Holland.

“There is no reason whatsoever to assume that milk and dairy products are a risk to public health,” he told parliament.