Contaminated eggs removed from the shelves

The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) warns against eggs that are contaminated with fipronil. The eggs with code X-NL-40155XX have been removed from the shelves. The NVWA also requests consumers to throw away eggs that contain this code. 

On Wednesday 26 July it was already announced that dozens of companies were locked up because their eggs may have been contaminated. A few weeks earlier, these companies received a treatment against red mite from the feather service company ChickFriend. The infection with fipronil probably started at that time. 

High concentrations
Research has shown that certain eggs contain too high a concentration of the harmful substance. These include the eggs of a company from Eck en Wiel (Gelderland). It is certain that the substance has also been found at at least 30 other companies, but for the time being this does not concern such concentrations.

Because not all the results of the investigations have been received yet, it is still unclear how many eggs are involved. According to the NVWA, at least 20% of poultry farmers in the Netherlands have used the relevant anti-lice product. "However, that does not immediately mean that the substance ended up in the eggs of all those companies in dangerous levels," the NVWA reports. 

Danger of Fipronil
Fipronil is used to control lice in dogs and cats. The product is prohibited for the poultry sector. The World Health Organization considers the drug 'slightly toxic'. "You are only at risk if you eat those eggs all your life. The NVWA takes good precautions. We have seen in animal experiments that a large amount of fipronil can cause damage to the liver, the thyroid gland and the kidneys", Martin claims. van den Berg, toxicologist at Utrecht University, told the NOS. 

LTO Nederland is shocked by the number of poultry farmers with fipronil in their eggs. "It remains to be seen how they should detoxify their chickens", answers chairman Eric Hubers, chairman of LTO Poultry Farming. 

Van den Berg advises LTO Nederland not to cull the chickens. "After 5 to 6 weeks, the dust is removed from the body of the chickens and they are clean. After 6 to 8 weeks they can start laying again and we can eat the eggs just fine," says the toxicologist.

Check your eggs
On the website of the NVWA you can check whether the eggs you have at home are contaminated with fipronil. The code of the respective eggs can also be found there. 

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