Page 8 - Short Case 1 Belgian & Dutch Toxic Eggs

Attention in Germany grew rapidly and

discount supermarket chain Aldi said, at

the beginning of August, it was

withdrawing all eggs from sale at its more
than 4,000 stores in Germany as a

precaution. Rewe Group said it would not

sell any eggs from the Netherlands until

tests showed it was safe to do so.
Germany also started to recall products

containing processed eggs. (5)

In the UK the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said about

700,000 eggs had been sent to the UK from potentially

contaminated Dutch farms. It did however, comment that

while 700,000 eggs sounds like a lot, it is worth

remembering that U.K. daily egg consumption is around

34 million.

Nevertheless, processed foods containing eggs, including
sandwiches and salads, were recalled from stores such as

Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers fipronil

to be moderately toxic and says very large quantities can

cause damage to the kidneys, liver and lymph glands.

“Fipronil is commonly used in veterinary products to

get rid of fleas, lice, and ticks. It is banned from use

to treat animals destined for human consumption,

such as chickens.