14 products are taken off shelves in toxic egg alert

MORE than a dozen products are being recalled in Scotland for fear they contain eggs from foreign farms linked to a contamination scare.

Watchdog food Standards Scotland (fSS) has issued a recall of 14 products which may contain eggs from farms in the netherlands where workers have illegally dosed animals with the insecticide fipronil.

the chemical is banned for use on food-producing animals and is usually only approved to combat insects such as fleas, cockroaches and mites in pets such as cats and dogs.

the UK food Standards Agency (fSA) last week revealed around 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms connected to the scare have been transported to Britain.

the agency stressed it was ‘very unlikely’ the eggs posed a risk to public health.

now the fSA and the fSS have issued recalls for a total of 14 liquid egg products sold by five wholesale distributors.

the products weigh up to 20lb, meaning they are not used in mass food production for supermarkets but rather used in commercial kitchens.

Among the distributors is foodspeed, based in Hayes, Middlesex, which holds a royal warrant to the Queen, describing it as a ‘supplier of fresh milk and dairy products’ to Her Majesty. in its description on the Royal Warrant Holders’ Association website, foodspeed adds: ‘Our clients include the royal palaces and many of London’s leading chefs.’

Last night, Buckingham Palace would not comment on whether liquid egg products – sold in cartons and used to make scrambled eggs, quiches,

‘Unlikely to be a public health risk’

cakes and meringues – are bought from foodspeed for use in royal kitchens.

But palace sources said staff would ‘always take note of any advisory on food safety’.

Watchdog staff north and south of the Border are now trying to assure consumers there is unlikely to be a risk to public health.

fSS said its investigations revealed ‘a small amount of liquid eggs from implicated farms was received by food businesses in Scotland which took immediate action to remove the products from sale’.

the watchdog stressed: ‘it remains the case that it is very unlikely there is any risk to public health from eating these foods, and the decision to withdraw these products is not due to food safety.’

it said it was continuing to liaise with the fSA over the investigation into foods which may contain egg from farms in the netherlands that used fipronil to treat egg-laying hens.

fSS said yesterday: ‘fipronil in the low doses we are seeing in affected eggs poses no risk to health but it shouldn’t be there as it’s not authorised for use in food-producing animals.’

Most of the egg products identified were imported in a liquid or powdered form so it is not possible to state how many eggs are involved.

the watchdog added: ‘there is no evidence that eggs laid in the UK are contaminated, so there is no need for people in Scotland to stop buying or eating whole eggs from shops.

‘testing of eggs on farms continues in Scotland and results to date have been negative.’

it emphasised the number of eggs involved represents a fraction of a single percentage of the eggs consumed in the UK every year and said there was no need for consumers to be concerned.