In July, Europe became aware of a case of contamination by fipronil in eggs produced in some Dutch poultry farms. Egg contamination would be due to cleansing operations with a detergent which was added with a pesticide, the Dega-16.

After a Belgian egg processer in Sint-Niklaas reported the first case to the Federal Food Safety Authority (FAVV), the latter sent an alert to the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) as eggs had been exported to France, Germany, Italy and Poland. The Dutch authorities have begun their investigation and it appears that the Dutch cleaning firm that would have used the added detergent (provided by a Belgian firm) would have contaminated several farms, not just in the Netherlands. Thus, all establishments served by this company since January 2017 have been blocked: 200 plants across Europe (mainly the Netherlands and Belgium, but also 4 in Germany and one in France) as of July 22.

The maximum residue limit of fipronil for all food products of animal origin is 0.005 mg/kg. Eggs and poultry meat from these establishments cannot reach European or extra-European markets; however, authorities do not feel that there is a contingent alert for public health. As reported by a recent Press release of the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, “There is currently no evidence of human poisoning deriving from the use of contaminated eggs in any EU country; such an event is unlikely, given the level of contamination detected and the normal average consumption of eggs in the European population”.

Although it is estimated that 700,000 eggs are contaminated, millions of eggs have been withdrawn from European markets. The damage to the Dutch poultry sector is huge since it is the largest European exporter of eggs and derived products, thanks to more than 30 million animals in approximately 1,000 farms, producing over 11 billion eggs a year (50% destined to the foreign markets).

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Source: Italian Ministry of Health