700,000 POISON EGGS ALERT
THE number of contaminated eggs sent to Britain is 30 times more than initially thought, it was revealed yesterday.
At 700,000, the figure is far higher than the 21,000 originally believed to have been distributed to the UK, the Food Standards Agency confirmed. Products affected were sandwiches and other chilled foods.
It said some of the products made
with these eggs will already have been consumed, but some were still within the expiry date and being withdrawn.
The FSA said it was “very unlikely” the eggs distributed from farms in the Netherlands posed any risk to public health. It released a list of processed products withdrawn in the UK “to ensure consumers are protected”.
While in some European countries eggs containing residues of Fipronil – an insecticide banned in food production – have been sold as fresh eggs, it is not the case in the UK.
Dutch police yesterday arrested two suspects after raids in the Netherlands and Belgium where the scare started.
Testing of eggs on UK farms is underway, although results so far have shown no contamination with Fipronil.
FSA chairwoman Heather Hancock said: “I’m confident that acting quickly is the right thing to do. The number of eggs involved is small in proportion to the number we eat. It is very unlikely there is a risk to public health.”
However, British egg producers have criticised UK supermarkets for being unclear on the use of imported eggs in products such as processed meals. Ian Jones, chairman of British Lion Egg Processors, said: “Major retailers are operating double standards.
“All of them stock British Lion shell eggs but they use imported eggs in many of their other foods.
“This is the latest of a number of food safety issues connected to eggs produced outside of the UK.
“As we approach Brexit, shoppers are increasingly concerned about the ingredients used in manufactured food. Consumers want good quality British ingredients produced to high standards of food safety.”
Britain produces 85 per cent of its eggs but imports two billion annually.
The British Egg Industry Council said: “Shell eggs on sale are not affected and the FSA says that there is no need for people to change the way they consume or cook eggs.”
Belgian authorities have admitted one of its farms alerted them to possible contamination back in June, but they believed it was an isolated case.
Millions of eggs have been pulled from European supermarket shelves and hundreds of thousands of hens may be culled in the Netherlands.