On Monday 21 August, the European Commission confirmed to EUROPE that 20 member states and 3 third countries had been affected by Fipronil contaminated eggs. This scandal is now the subject of a criminal investigation in Belgium and the Netherlands and will be on the agenda of a special meeting on 26 September next.
It should be pointed out that the Belgian Agency for Food Chain Safety (Afsca) was informed on 2 June of the potential presence in egg batches of the Fipronil insecticide put on the market in 1993 as a means of tackling dictyospermum scale. The use of this substance is legal for domestic pets such as cats or dogs but has not been authorised for animals included in the food chain because in high doses or repeated use it can have a toxic effect on the thyroid, liver and kidneys. A first exchange of letters took place between Belgium and the Netherlands on 6 July and the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) was triggered on 20 July.
20 member states and 3 third countries have subsequently indicated that they have been affected by this scandal. In chronological order these involve the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Slovenia, Denmark, Spain, Lebanon, Hungary, Finland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
Certain elements in the on-going investigation in Belgium indicate that this insecticide has been used, despite it having been banned for approximately a year. On the basis of the information currently available, it would appear that Fibronil has been mixed with Dega-16, a product that used to counter dictyospermum scale and which has been described as totally “natural”. This product does not have any marketing authorisation either. The Belgian Poutry-Vision company, a distributor of health products for the poultry farming sector and the Dutch ChickFriend company, a specialist in eradicating dictyospermum scale are both subject to legal investigations.
Extraordinary meeting 26 September
At a European level, the Commission has organised an extraordinary meeting for member states on 26 September. Before this date, this subject will be on the agenda of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (PAFF) on 30 August and it is highly likely that it will be discussed by Agriculture Ministers during their informal meeting on 3-5 September, as well as at their formal meeting on 9-10 October. Several Community texts are affected by this case, namely EU regulation 1127/2014 in which the Commission establishes maximum limits applicable to Fipronil residues, as well as the 2015/1918 implementing decision establishing the administrative assistance and cooperation system for applying EU regulation 82/2004 on the official controls carried out to ensure compliance with legislation for animal feed and food and the provisions on animal health and welfare (administrative assistance and information exchange). (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)