Nearly 700,000 contaminated eggs may be distributed to UK

LONDON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) — Nearly 700,000 eggs from Dutch farms affected by the insecticide Fipronil may have been distributed to Britain, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Food Standards Agency.
The Agency previously estimated that the number is just 21,000. But even if the figure increases significantly, it only represents 0.007 percent of the eggs consumed in the UK every year, and it is “very unlikely” that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods, it said.
While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the UK this is not the case. Many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs which have not come from affected farms so Fipronil residues will be highly diluted.
The products affected are processed foods in which egg is one ingredient among many others, mostly used in sandwich fillings or other chilled foods, according to the Agency.
Fipronil is not authorized for use as a veterinary medicine or pesticide around food producing animals.
Some 85 percent of the eggs consumed in Britain are laid in the country. There is no evidence that eggs laid in the UK are contaminated or that Fipronil has been used inappropriately in the UK. Testing of eggs on farms is underway across the UK and results to date for England and Wales show no exposure to Fipronil, according to the Agency.
“Based on the available evidence there is no need for people to change the way they consume or cook eggs,” said Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency. Enditem