Fipronil residues in eggs

The detection of fipronil residues in eggs by Belgian authorities in July 2017 led to millions of eggs being recalled from the market in the European Union (EU). The fipronil residues detected in eggs was due to misuse of non-approved veterinary medicinal products in poultry farms against red mites. As a result, an ad-hoc monitoring program was established in the EU. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its report. The report summarizes the data obtained from 1 September 2017 to 30 November 2017. A total of 5,439 samples were submitted to EFSA, covering in total 53,655 individual samples. These samples include 742 samples contained residues exceeding the legal limit (i.e. above the Maximum Residue Level (MRL)). Samples that exceeded the MRL were almost exclusively related to fipronil and were associated with unprocessed chicken eggs (601 samples), fat of laying hens (134 samples), muscle of laying hens (5 samples) and dried egg powder (2 samples). Samples that exceeded the legal limit originated from the Netherlands (664 samples), Italy (40 samples), Germany (13 samples), Poland (11 samples), Hungary (6 samples), France (5 samples), Slovenia (2 samples) and Greece (1 sample). @ https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/scientific_output/5164.pdf