16/04/2008Dioxins are formed as unwanted by-products from a number of human activities including certain industrial processes. In terms of dioxins release into the environment, waste incinerators are often the worst culprits due to incomplete burning. Food of animal origin is the predominant route of human exposure due to the deposition of dioxins in the fat component of animal products. Dioxins have been showed to cause a wide variety of toxic effects and to be carcinogenic in humans and animals. To respond to the numerous recent queries concerning dioxins contamination of food, FAO has recently developed a fact sheet summarising undated information.