Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CAKES NOW AT RISK IN SCANDAL OF TOXIC EGGS
CAKES and meringues are under threat from the toxic egg scandal, food safety chiefs have warned.
Bakers should recall products comprising 15% or more of eggs from Dutch farms affected by the insecticide scare, says the Food Standards Agency.
Until now products with a short shelf life, such as salads and sandwiches made with eggs possibly contaminated with fipronil, have been scrapped.
The FSA said it was a “cautious” response to the health scare which has spread across 17 nations, including the UK.
The FSA has devised a formula to help food makers work out if products are hit by the 15% egg rule.
Around 700,000 toxic eggs have been imported for use in processed food.
Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have already cleared shelves of 31 at-risk products in total, also including catering packs of liquid eggs that are used in baking.
FSA chief executive Jason Feeney told trade magazine The Grocer: “This is about resolving a retrospective issue.” The FSA was unable to list how many products could be hit by its new guidelines but hinted it could be a long one. Fipronil, which is also used to treat fleas, lice and ticks in cats and dogs, is hazardous for humans and can damage kidneys, liver and thyroid glands. Its use is banned on animals in the food chain and it is also harmful to honey bees. FSA chair Heather Hancock said: “It is very unlikely there is a risk to public health. But fipronil shouldn’t be there.”
Two men have been arrested in the Netherlands, where 180 poultry farms have been shut. It is believed fipronil was used in detergent used to clean chicken barns to kill red mites.