Germany: organic eggs also contaminated with insecticide

According to the  Ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2.9 million eggs contaminated with the insecticide Fipronil, including organic eggs, produced on farms in Belgium and Holland arrived in Germany via a packing centre in North Rhine-Westphalia. Today MInister Christian Meyer said in a TV interview that more than 10 million contaminated eggs were sold in Germany. So far, the eggs have been recalled by Ministry of the Environment in the federal states North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, where consumers have  been warned not to eat the eggs but to hand them back.

UPDATE: the so called organic eggs from the Netherlands were sold by the discounter Aldi Süd. They decided to take all eggs from the shelves immediately. 

The Ministry of Agriculture in Lower Saxony  stated that Fipronil is used by vets to combat fleas and ticks on dogs and cats. It is banned as a medicament in the case of animals used as a source of food. The authorities in Belgium and Holland assume that an authorised product based on ethereal oils for cleaning and disinfection of stalls was mixed with Fipronil, a procedure that  is not permitted. Since it is not an approved substance, all products contaminated with Fibronil, irrespective of the level of contamination, must be withdrawn from the market.

Risk to health of children

How dangerous Fipronil in eggs can be is still not clear. Belgium registered this case as early as 21 July on the EU rapid warning system RASFF, where they are talking about contamination up to 1.2 milligrams per kilogram. The ministry in Lower Saxony explained that: “On the basis of the results of analyses in Belgium, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warns that there is a potentially acute risk to the health of children if they eat eggs contaminated with Fipronil. This warning applies only to children.”