A new meaning for a bad egg? Eggs contaminated with insecticide have been found in 26 of the 28 EU member states.
As Poslovni Dnevnik reports on the 6th of September, 2017, despite the fact that millions of eggs have been withdrawn from trade across the European Union, it is feared that many contaminaed eggs have already entered the food chain through biscuits, pastries, salads and other foods in which eggs are commonly used.
Eggs contaminated with the insecticide Fipronil have been detected in a worrying 26 of 28 European Union countries, only Croatia and in Lithuania are safe. A massive 45 countries worldwide have been hit by the problem.
Food Safety Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said during a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia, that the apparent “illegal use” of Fipronil was the issue. Otherwise, Fipronil is classed as a moderately hazardous pesticide, and is a broad-spectrum insecticide which belongs to the phenylpyrazole family. It works by disrupting the central nervous system of the insect, resulting in hyperexcitation of the nerves and muscles and eventual death. While the insecticide is not powerful enough to kill a human, it does result in some extremely unpleasant side effects.
It has been specified in Brussels that the two EU members which have avoided the contaminated eggs are Croatia and Lithuania.
Commissioner Andriukaitis said the Commission is making efforts to get a full picture of the whole problem, pointing out that millions of eggs have already been destroyed. The European Commission is set to send its teams to the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France – and that the Commission will hold a conference on the 26th of September, 2017 to discuss this scandal.
It was stressed that criminal activities (such as the illegal use of Fipronil) would not be tolerated.
Despite the withdrawal of the vast majority of the ”bad eggs”, fears still remain.
