10/15/12
John Dalli, Commissioner
Directorate-General for Health and Consumers
European Commission
Brussels, Belgium
Transmitted by electronic mail
Dear Commissioner Dalli,
I am in receipt of a letter from Joanna Darmanin, dated 10/15/12. This letter makes an effort to justify failing to warn European Union (EU) residents of the presence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the animal fat portion of the food supply. Despite the measures enumerated in this letter, the food supply is contaminated with levels of POPs that impose a significant quantity of disease risk. This is the consensus of scientists and activists with expert knowledge in the subjects of POPs exposure and health effects. In a situation such as this, where a significant and avoidable health hazard exists, it is the responsibility of the governmental public health entities to warn the public of the health hazard. There is no justification for failure to provide the residents of the EU with a warning of the POPs exposure health hazard.
As I stated in my previous letter, the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers is directly responsible for the harm that results from continuing unnecessary exposures that take place due to the failure to provide warning of the POPs exposure health hazard. Many residents of the EU would restrict their consumption of animal fats if they were aware of the significant disease risk imposed by animal fat consumption at current levels of food supply contamination. It is bad behavior to choose not to warn residents because of the desire to avoid displeasing the corporations that have financial interests in the sales of animal fat containing foods. Avoiding displeasing these corporations is the only reason why the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers and all other governmental public health entities except the World Health Organization (WHO) choose not to warn residents of the POPs exposure health hazard.
Ms. Darmanin states that she takes a different view than that which I take. Her view is different because she is controlled by the desire to live in political comfort. She has no scientific basis for taking a different view. Anyone who was aware of the existence of the POPs exposure health hazard would recognize the Truth of my words.
I call upon you as the top governmental public health official in the EU to warn the residents of the POPs exposure health hazard. This is the only honorable course of action that exists. Failure to provide warning of an avoidable health hazard is a breach of duty. If you are unable to provide this warning, you should step down. You know the difference between enforcing measures to interdict accidental poisonings of the food supply and providing warning of an existing health hazard constituted by the background levels of industrial chemicals in the food supply. The WHO has called for a worldwide effort to minimize the exposures that children receive to POPs. You must provide a warning of the POPs exposure health hazard as part of the effort to minimize children’s POPs exposure in the EU. The children and their parents deserve to have knowledge of the POPs exposure health hazard. It is immoral for the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers to choose not to provide children and parents with this knowledge. The children and their parents have trusted government to provide warnings of avoidable health hazards. Providing such warnings is at the heart of public health work. You must look beyond political considerations and take the action described above.
joyous in Nature,
Donald L. Hassig
Don Hassig for Congress 
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