FSA reveals new contaminated egg guidelines

By Gwen Ridler

- Last updated on GMT

The Food Standards Agency has issued guidelines to curb the spread of fipronil-contaminated eggs
The Food Standards Agency has issued guidelines to curb the spread of fipronil-contaminated eggs

Related tags Egg yolk Egg

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued fresh guidelines to guard against the risk of imported eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil, as it added six new products to the list of products recalled so far.

The FSA and Food Standards Scotland has met industry representatives to specify products would need to be withdrawn if contaminated eggs were likely to make up more than 15% of the product.

Food businesses must comply with these guidelines, or show that the egg ingredient used is compliant with the EU maximum residue level for the insecticide fipronil. 

‘Not authorised for use in food’

The FSA said: “It remains very unlikely that there is any risk to public health, but as fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals we continue to track down implicated food products and ensure that they are removed from sale where they breach the limit.

“It remains the case that the egg we have identified represents only a fraction of a single percentage of the eggs we consume in the UK every year. There remains no need to change how you buy or consume eggs; we are not concerned about any risk to health.”

Contaminated eggs have been found to be incorporated into processed foods, with fresh eggs remaining unaffected. Home-produced eggs are being tested for the presence of fipronil, but no traces have been found so far.

Possible fipronil contamination

Six egg products have been withdrawn from sale due to possible fipronil contamination, bringing the running total of products recalled in the UK due to the contaminated imported egg scandal to 31.

Included in the recalls were liquid egg products from producers Braeforge and Oliver Kay, which were distributed to catering outlets. See a full list below.

After first claiming no eggs containing fipronil had entered the UK, the FSA later revised its estimate to 21,000, before raising that estimate to 700,000 eggs.

Meanwhile, the fipronil imported egg scandal could have been avoided with stronger supply chain management,​ claimed consultancy Adjuno.

Recalled egg products

Braeforge (trading as Pensworth Cocovite)

  • 1kg Liquid egg yolk cartons, Lot 292 with the use-by date October 4 2017
  • 1kg Liquid egg yolk cartons, Lot 283 with the use-by date October 10 2017
  • 1kg Liquid egg white cartons, Lot 254 with the use-by date October 9 2017
  • 1kg Liquid egg white cartons, Lot 254 with the use-by date October 10 2017

Oliver Kay

  • 1ltr Pasteurised liquid egg yolk, Lot 292 with the use-by date of October 10 2017
  • 1ltr Pateurised whole egg, Lot 255 with the use-by date of September 15 2017

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