The tainted eggs scandal deepened once again on Thursday (24 August), as Dutch Health Minister Edith Schippers said traces of a second banned insecticide had been found on Dutch poultry farms. EURACTIV’s partner EFEAgro reports.
Italy said Monday (21 August) it has found traces of fipronil in two eggs samples, making it the latest country hit by the Europe-wide insecticide scandal, while a batch of tainted frozen omelettes was also withdrawn.
A German state minister charged Wednesday (16 August) that over three times more eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil had entered the country than the national government has admitted.
Two Dutch men appeared in court Tuesday (15 August) in connection with the tainted-eggs scandal that swept Europe this month, which saw millions of eggs destroyed and caused tens of millions of euros in damages.
The European Commission will call an emergency meeting of ministers over insecticide-tainted eggs in a bid to end "blaming and shaming" over the scandal, health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said on Friday (11 August).
Luxembourg became the latest European country hit by a scare over tainted eggs, with a major supermarket chain pulling them from the shelves and other firms affected, authorities said on Thursday (10 August).
Belgium accused the Netherlands on Wednesday (9 August) of failing to inform it that eggs were tainted with insecticide despite knowing about the problem since last November, as Europe's latest food safety scandal deepened.
Germany's agriculture minister said on Tuesday (8 August) that the contamination of millions of eggs with a potentially harmful insecticide was "criminal", as authorities in several European countries continued to investigate the food safety scare.
Belgium has been aware of a potential problem with fipronil in the poultry sector since June, its food safety agency admitted, adding that it did not say anything because of a fraud investigation.
Supermarkets in the Netherlands and Germany massively withdrew batches of eggs from their shelves on Thursday (3 August) amid fears that they contained high quantities of fipronil, a toxic insecticide which is dangerous for humans.
Hundreds of thousands of Dutch eggs have been declared unsuitable for consumption as they contained high quantities of fipronil, an insecticide toxic to humans.
French farmers’ associations have accused the European Commission of responsibility for the “lack of regulation” which has led to an overproduction of eggs and a drop of prices below production costs.