Eggs contaminated with insecticide – Fipronil detected at several Dutch companies

Eggs at several chicken farms which were reported to the Dutch Health Body (NVWA) were contaminated with the insecticide Fipronil. This was confirmed by tests, according to the press agency ANP. The scandal has also affected Belgium and Germany. The German Minister for Agriculture has called on Brussels and La Haye to tell them everything about the “criminal” contamination of the eggs by insecticide.

The Dutch Health Body will publish a list of codes used to designate eggs at the affected companies, a spokesman said on Saturday. The number of Dutch companies affected is not yet known. These companies have very probably traded with ChickFriend, a company that specialises in eradicating red lice. They used Fipronil in their product, which is prohibited when treating animals destined for human consumption.

Germany called on the Netherlands and Belgium, where the alarm was raised, to tell them everything about the “criminal” contamination of the eggs by insecticide. It led to a large-scale operation to pull the products from sale in Europe. “Somebody must have had criminal intentions when they contaminated eggs with a banned product”, the German Minister for Agriculture Christian Schmidt said in an interview with Bild on Friday. “I expect the relevant authorities to look into this case quickly and in great depth. Belgium and the Netherlands in particular are obliged to”, he added.

The toxic substance was detected in Belgium and Germany, but in small concentrations, well below the levels required by European standards. However, supermarket chains Albert Heijn, Colruyt and Delhaize have taken some eggs off the shelves in Belgium after a small concentration of the toxic substance was found in products imported from the Netherlands.

(Source: Belga)


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