Eggs have been withdrawn from sale in several European countries after traces of a partially-banned insecticide were detected in exports from the Netherlands. 

Dutch food safety regulators blocked eggs from sale in July and August, after finding they were contaminated with ‘high levels’ of fipronil, which is commonly used in flea and cockroach control products. Agricultural uses of the pesticide (on maize and sunflowers) were prohibited in 2013, in light of evidence of its impacts on honeybee health, and its use in the food chain has also been banned.

More recently, eggs from Belgium and Germany have also been implicated in the growing scandal.

Over the weekend, Dutch officials released ID codes for the eggs to help retailers and consumers identify contaminated batches, but didn’t release names of egg producers implicated in the contamination scandal.

German supermarket Aldi removed all eggs from sale in its German stores in August as a precaution against contamination, and eggs have also been withdrawn from sale in France, Belgium and the Netherlands in light of the discovery. In Germany, moves are underway to identify and remove from sale any products which might contain contaminated processed eggs. Eggs sold before the contamination was detected may also have been tainted with fipronil, which the World Health Organisation classifies as ‘moderately toxic’ to humans.

Dutch farm cooperative LTO has said millions of hens may need to be culled as a result of the contamination. Hundreds of thousands of birds have already been killed since the discovery was made, but many more may still have to die before the Netherlands can regain access to export markets. The cooperative moved to reassure consumers, saying that the contamination scandal is over from their point of view, but that it will continue to affect farmers. Nevertheless, a criminal investigation has been launched, as fipronil use on food-producing animals is banned in Europe.

Last week, Belgian food safety officials revealed that they had known about fipronil contamination in eggs since early June, but kept the discovery quiet because authorities didn’t want to jeopardise a fraud investigation. Belgian authorities defended the move by saying they first needed to identify the scale of the problem before making public their findings.

According to German authorities, the cause of contamination in Belgium and the German state of Lower Saxony has been linked to use of a cleaning agent, though Dutch farmers have blamed a treatment used on chickens.

Meanwhile, Dutch farm groups have said 150 farms have been affected by the scandal, and authorities in the Netherlands have revealed that testing has shown eggs from at least one farm present a serious health risk, with eggs from a further 59 presenting a risk to children.

LTO’s livestock chair Eric Hubers said the contamination was outside the control of poultry producers, claiming there had been “[An] illegal addition of fipronil to a legal drug against blood lice.”

LTO president Marc Calon added that the Dutch federation is co-ordinating legal action against the manufacturers of a certain product, the supposed source of fipronil contamination. Calon is also seeking compensation for farmers affected by the scandal.

Speaking on Friday, LTO’s Hubers said, "Fipronil should never be a problem again. Consumer confidence is vital to us. This crisis is not just about the affected companies, it also affects the remaining 80 percent of poultry companies in the Netherlands where fipronil has never been used.”