Egg alert in Europe - Pesticides present

[Bob]

An alert is issued in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

There is a concern that the tainted eggs have also been exported to Poland, France, and Italy.

Aldi, which has 4,000 stores in Germany, said it is removing all eggs from its shelves as a precaution.

The eggs contain a pesticide toxin called Fipronil, which can cause liver and kidney damage. (A youngster consuming 2 eggs a day with the contamination could become ill for instance).

The eggs appear to have originated out of the Netherlands, who is Europe's largest egg supplier.

The eggs are being destroyed on the order of the Dutch Food and Welfare Authority after it was discovered they contain toxic levels of the pesticide Fipronil.

Latest estimates from the government agency are that 200 farms are involved, but in what scope is not yet known. Earlier, after the first alarms went off in Belgium, 4 Dutch farms tested positive for residues in eggs above the maximum residue limit.


Most of the farms had their houses and/or birds treated by a Dutch firm called Chickfriend. This company bought a product from a Belgian company.

The owner of a pest control company in the Belgian Ravels-Weelde is suspected of having added Fipronil to an authorised drug for red mite control and then resold this mixture.

The company would have added Fipronil to the product Dega-16. Dega-16 is a natural product consisting of menthol and eucalyptus, which is used to control red mite in laying hens and is –by itself- safe, even for human consumption.

The Belgian government started the investigation after an egg processor in the Belgian town of Sint-Niklaas reported to the Federal Food Safety Authority (FAVV) that it had found Fipronil in eggs.

After further research the Belgian authorities informed the European food safety warning system RASFF, because they had leads that the eggs were being exported to France, Germany, Italy and Poland. This, in turn, alerted the Dutch officials to start to look into the matter.

ref - numerous alerts, news sources, and http://www.poultryworld.net/Home/General/2017/7/Belgian-Dutch-Fipronil-scandal-expands-164304E/

[Bob]

What is Fipronil?

Fipronil is a broad use insecticide that belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family.

Fipronil is used to control ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, termites, mole crickets, thrips, rootworms, weevils, and other insects. Fipronil is a white powder with a moldy odor. Fipronil was first registered for use in the United States in 1996.

What are some products that contain fipronil?

Fipronil is used in a wide variety of pesticide products, including granular products for grass, gel baits, spot-on pet care products, liquid termite control products, and products for agriculture.

There are more than 50 registered products that contain fipronil.

How might one be exposed to fipronil?

People can be exposed to chemicals in four ways: contacting their skin, contacting their eyes, breathing them in, or eating them. Direct contact to the skin or eyes may occur while applying fipronil products.

Pets may be exposed to fipronil by products that are applied to their skin for flea and tick treatments.

People may also be exposed to fipronil when applying flea and tick products. It may also be possible to swallow fipronil if the hands are not washed following skin exposure.

Exposure to fipronil can be limited by reading the pesticide label and following all of the directions.

What are some signs and symptoms from a brief exposure to fipronil?

Health effects from a brief exposure to fipronil depend on how someone is exposed to the chemical. Direct, short-term contact with skin can result in slight skin irritation.

When individuals have eaten fipronil, reported health effects included sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache, stomach pain, dizziness, weakness, and seizures.

Signs and symptoms from a brief exposure to fipronil generally improve and clear up without treatment.

Dangers to the environment and other lifeforms

Tests were done to find out if fipronil is toxic to fish and creatures in the water without backbones (invertebrates), such as shrimp and water fleas.

Scientists found that fipronil is highly toxic to sea and freshwater fish, and highly toxic to sea and freshwater invertebrates. Two fipronil metabolites were also tested in freshwater fish and invertebrates and were more toxic than fipronil.

In other studies, fipronil was found to be highly toxic to some birds, but practically non-toxic to ducks.

Fipronil was also found to be highly toxic to honey bees, but not toxic to earthworms.


reference - http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fipronil.html

==update==

Honey Bee alert

Fipronil is highly toxic to bees. The EU has recently banned the use of fipronil as a pesticide in certain crops because it is suspected to be associated with the Bee Colony Collapse Disorder.

Fipronil is quite stable in soils, with a half-life of ~125 days.

[Bob]

Belgium admits it 'knew' about the contaminated eggs since JUNE


Belgium has admitted it knew in June that eggs from a Dutch farm might have been contaminated with an insecticide a month before it became public knowledge.

The country’s food safety agency said in a statement that the information was not shared because of a fraud investigation.

and this was said:

"The agency said it first learned of the issue at the start of June when a poultry company alerted them that they had found elevated levels of the insecticide in its products.

“Use of this drug is not permitted in this sector,” Belgium’s food agency has said on its website. It said the product was “unlawfully present” in a blood lice product used for the treatment of laying hens."

Fipronil is not a "drug" exactly but it can be used externally at times for "tick and flea" clearing on dogs.


A spokeswoman for the European Commission confirmed on Friday that the case was under investigation by Belgian and Dutch prosecutors. She said the Belgian public prosecutor had opened a criminal investigation against a service provider suspected of adding the substance to his products.

Belgium has also opened a case on the EU Food Fraud Network appealing to the Netherlands for assistance.

ref: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-eggs-fipronil-contaminated-favv-food-agency-germany-a7879131.html