Egg scandal continues with Fipronil found in German bakery products

By Gill Hyslop

- Last updated on GMT

A German newspaper has accused the Federal Ministry of Agriculture of allegedly 'hiding' the full extent of products contaminated with Fipronil. Pic: ©GettyImages/Freestocker
A German newspaper has accused the Federal Ministry of Agriculture of allegedly 'hiding' the full extent of products contaminated with Fipronil. Pic: ©GettyImages/Freestocker

Related tags Germany

The Fipronil egg scandal has flared up in Germany, with a local newspaper alleging authorities are attempting to hide the full extent of the spread of the insecticide in products like pastries and liquor.

Fipronil - first found in eggs in July - has made its way further into the food chain in Germany.

This is according to Süddeustche Zeitung (SZ), which alleges it received a Federal Ministry of Agriculture report that the poisonous insecticide has been found in high concentrations in several egg-containing products.

High levels

The report was leaked to the Germany newspaper by a whistle-blower, showing the Ministry found Fipronil in 103 of the 473 products it analyzed, with several products measuring in excess of regulatory limits, including bakery products, egg salads and advocaat, a liquor containing eggs.

The testing began in August, shortly after North Rhine-Westphalia authorities ordered a recall on 900,000 eggs originating from the Netherlands due to high levels of Fipronil.

At the time, German officials said the levels detected were not high enough to be dangerous for adults, but could be risky for children, the elderly and health-compromised people.

‘Egg-gate’?

The current finding has thrown the cat among the pigeons, as the unnamed whistle-blower told SZ pressure had been exerted to carry out superficial tests to lessen the true extent of the Fipronil contamination in order to avoid mass recalls.

Some products have been removed from supermarket shelves voluntarily, but nothing has been done to seize products purchased by consumers before the Fipronil scandal was revealed.

Klaus Müller of consumer advocate Consumer-Bundesverbrand has criticized the federal government, stating: "Fipronil has no place in processed products. Call backs are urgently needed".

The German Federal Ministry of Agriculture had not responded to our request for a comment in time for print.

Related topics Ingredients Cakes & Pastries Health

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