List of fipronil-affected egg products to be published

Eggs affected by the fipronil chemical scandal have now been confirmed as spreading to 17 European countries from the Netherlands, including to Belgium, Romania, Germany, Sweden, France, and the UK, and also as far as Hong Kong.

Although the risk to public health has been confirmed as very small, millions of eggs and other products have already been pulled from supermarket shelves across Europe.

Writing in the French newspaper Le Parisien, the French minister for Agriculture, Stéphane Travert, confirmed that he would be able to release the list of contaminated products in the next few days, once analysis has been completed, with the list set to identify any products made with eggs found to have levels of fipronil over and above the minimum allowed.

Shopkeepers and supermarkets will then be able to inform their customers of the potential risk with posters in-store.

Travert said it was “probable” that products affected by the insecticide were still on sale, with 14 businesses and 40 “greengrocers” identified as having imported over 50 tonnes of eggs and egg-based products that are at risk of being contaminated.

However, Travert confirmed again that “the health risk is very small, when considered alongside the usual eating habits of the French public”.

Fipronil - used as a pest control chemical but usually banned for any animals destined for the human food chain - is said to cause nausea, headaches, stomach pain, dizziness and weakness if eaten in high enough quantities over a long enough period of time.