As the inquest into the discovery of partially-banned pesticide fipronil on Dutch poultry farms continues, with a debate in the Dutch Parliament’s lower house on Thursday, there are reports that a second restricted chemical has been discovered on farms in the country.

In Parliament, Dutch ministers revealed that an investigation of poultry and meat farms with links to ChickenFriend, the cleaning company identified as the source of fipronil contamination, has uncovered evidence of the use of amitraz, another partially-banned substance.

The contamination scandal has so far affected over 250 farms in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Fipronil is commonly used in flea and tick treatments, but is banned from use in the food chain. Amitraz is used against mites, flies and ticks, and can be used on some animals, though its use on poultry is prohibited. Dutch ministers said the public health implications of this latest discovery are unclear.

Meanwhile, the two directors of ChickenFriend have been arrested and appeared in court in the Netherlands, where they stand accused of knowingly using banned substances.

According to a report from Wageningen Economic Research Institute, commissioned by Dutch agriculture secretary Martijn van Dam, the fipronil scandal has cost Dutch farmers €33 million, without accounting for damage to reputation and impacts of consumers’ reactions to the scandal. Of this figure, the cost of placing restrictions on farms implicated in the health scare is estimated at €16m,  whilst the cost of measures to tackle contamination on farms is pegged at  €17m, meaning Dutch poultry companies are estimated to have lost between €120,000 and €220,000on average as a result of the scare.

As well as knock-on effects like reputational damage, the estimated costs don’t include impacts on non-farming companies in the poultry industry.

Farm groups have petitioned the Dutch government for financial assistance to help farmers cope with the fall-out from the scandal, which they claim has left some businesses facing ruin.