Fipronil recall - updated timeline

Background

This month there has been a breaking story about chemical contamination of eggs produced in Europe. The chemical concerned is Fripronil, a brand spectrum insecticide which is not authorised for use in the food supply chain. It is a commonly used chemical in the veterinary treatment of pests such as fleas and mites on dogs and cats and as an insecticide in the global food supply chain. Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide used against fleas, lice, ticks, cockroaches, mites and other insects [1].

Click on links for more details.

The Dutch NVWA website published codes of fipronil-contaminated eggs from investigated farms on 3rd August 2017 = 138 egg codes from 180 businesses checked. The UK Food Standards Agency reported on the 7th August 2017 that:

"Following concerns raised in the Netherlands about a substance called Fipronil which has been used inappropriately in cleaning products on chicken farms, we have identified that a very small number of eggs have been distributed to the UK from the farms affected. Fipronil is not authorised for use as a veterinary medicine or pesticide around food producing animals". 

The update on the 10th August 2017 stated:

"Investigations into the Fipronil incident in Europe continue. We have now established that more eggs from affected farms than previously identified came to the UK. It is very unlikely that these eggs pose a risk to public health, but as Fipronil is unauthorised for use in food-producing animals we have acted with urgency to ensure that consumers are protected. ... It is likely that the number of eggs that have come to the UK is closer to 700,000 than the 21,000 we previously believed had been imported. However, as this represents 0.007% of the eggs we consume in the UK every year, it remains the case that it is very unlikely that there is any risk to public health from consuming these foods".

The list of products recalled in the UK in this notice have a use by expiry date latest of the 16th August. Dutchnews.nl report on the first notification of use of fipronil on Belgian farms in November 2016.

The RASFF portal highlights alerts and rejection notices for food and feed safety. Between November 2011 and July 2017 there were 45 border rejections or attention notices for fipronil not associated with eggs. On 20th July 2017 there was food alert raised on the RASFF database based on sampling on the 15th July 2017 by Belgium for fipronil (between 0.0031 and 1.2 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs.  There is a further notice for the 11th August 2017 raised by Luxembourg for fipronil (0.008 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs from the Netherlands.

The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has provided a risk assessment made on the basis of a notice in the Rapid Alert System for Foods and Feeds (RASFF) according to which increased levels of fipronil were detected in eggs and egg products in Belgium. It states that:

"The currently available results of the analysis of fipronil levels range from 0.0031 to 1.2 mg per kg in chicken eggs and from 0.0015 to 0.0156 mg per kg in chicken meat."

The timeline below has been updated with the latest alerts and news items on how the fipronil incident is evolving.

Timeline

31^st August 2017 - Fipronil in eggs: EU needs faster information exchange, MEPs say

31st August 2017 – Bulgaria - Minister of Agriculture: No Risk of Fipronil-Affected Eggs at the Moment

31^st August 2017 - Food scandal: Fipronil in eggs since September 2016, according to the EU

31^st August 2017 – FSA – Update on Fipronil in eggs - We continue to trace the distribution of eggs from farms in the Netherlands affected by Fipronil. Since our previous update, eight additional products have been withdrawn, as detailed in our updated withdrawal list. These are all cake mixes that are used in the catering trade. List of withdrawn products as of 31/07/17

31st August 2017 – RASFF - There have been 28 distinct RASFF alerts now for fipronil in eggs since July – The 20th July 2017 alert has now had 444 updates. 31^st August 2017- Fipronil-tainted food found in Dutch bakery in eastern Slovakia

31^st August 2017 – Suit in fipronil case filed by Flemish government

30^th August 2017 – Malta - Fipronil found in locally-sold eggs, authorities advise against having more than two eggs a day. Fipronil traces found in eight of 20 samples sent from Malta.

28^th August 2017 – Sales of eggs in the Netherlands have returned to their usual levels after a two-week slump caused by fipronil

27^th August 2017 - Fipronil misunderstood, too easy to obtain: official – Taipei Times

26^th August 2017 –  Low fipronil contamination found in imported food in Finland

25^th August 2017 RASFF Portal – original fibronil alert of the 11^th July now has 359 uptakes with 105 updates in the last four days mainly testing results, demonstrating how the breadth of the incident is increasing. 

25^th August 2017 –  China says it will check egg producers for use of fipronil insecticide – Source: Reuters

24^th August 2017 – More products to be withdrawn in UK over fipronil as FSA introduces 15% threshold

24^th August 2017 – Netherlands finds second banned chemical on chicken farms as cost of scandal spirals – amitraz

24th August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.033 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs from Italy

24th August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.017 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs from Italy

24^th August 2017 – Egg scare costs Dutch poultry farmers 33 million Euros

24^th August 2017 – Italian police seize over 90,000 eggs.

23^rd August 2017 – According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, Orkla Foods Norge withdrew 16 different Idun dressings even though the amount of fipronil in them does not constitute a health hazard.

23^rd August 2017 – The Slovenian Food Safety Authority has tested eggs and egg products in Slovenia in the wake of the poison eggs scandal, but found no contamination.

23^rd August 2017 – Lotus Bakeries has voluntarily recalled products that contain a slightly higher than recommended level of fipronil from Belgium supermarket shelves, but says UK market is unaffected.

 23^rd August 2017 – Turkish Authorities announce Turkish eggs are free from fipronil.

23^rd August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.044 mg/kg - ppm) in whole hen egg powder from Poland

22^nd August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.094 mg/kg - ppm) in egg yolk powder from Germany

22^nd August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.43 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs from Hungary

22^nd August 2017 – RASSF notification of fipronil (0.048 mg/kg - ppm) in eggs from Poland

22^nd August 2017 – In a statement, the Swiss food safety office (BLV) said it had tested eggs from producers across the country and found no trace of the banned insecticide. 

22^nd August 2017 - Slovakian inspectors have revealed that four hotels in Bratislava received products made from contaminated Dutch eggs. Altogether 570 kilograms of pasteurised egg mixture containing the pesticide fipronil were used, while 90 kilograms were returned to the supplier, the Public Health Authority (ÚVZ).

22^nd August 2017 – Egg products from three farms in central Taiwan found containing excessive fipronil. Hsieh Yen-ju (謝燕儒), director of the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau, said that businesses that use fipronil to eliminate mosquitoes and pests must have a permit to operate, adding that violators are punishable by a fine of between NT$30,000 (about US$1,000) and NT$150,000 under the Environmental Agents Control Act.

21^st August 2017 – France updates its list of recalled products due to fipronil

21^st August 2017 – Fipronil in eggs reported in Italy see report

18^th August 2017 – Fipronil contaminated eggs found from farms in Korea – see report. A total of 49 farms had used illegal insecticide

18th August 2017 - The latest list of food products recalled in France can be found here.

18th August 2017 - The number of updates on the RASFF Portal for this alert reached 250 updates with 25 countries or organisations raising concern: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,  Commission Services (org), Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,   France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, INFOSAN (org),   Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Netherlands,  Poland, Romania,  Slovakia,  Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,  and United Kingdom.

17th August 2017 - The Telegraph reports that eggs affected by the recall have been used in food service and restaurants.

17th August 2017 - French Agency produce information on contamination of eggs and meat.

17th August 2017 Euractiv reports that the "tainted egg scandal sparks political row in Germany."

17th August 2017 - The UK Food Standards Agency issue an update on the fipronil situation in the UK:

"We continue our urgent work to trace egg products which might contain Fipronil. In most cases the identified products were past their expiry date but those remaining are being withdrawn immediately. Today we have updated our withdrawal list with 14 additional products that are still within their shelf life. Most of these products have been distributed to food manufacturers and catering outlets."

The current list of UK recalled products is here. There is also a Q&A factsheet that has been made available. Whilst the retail products identified last week have a relatively short duration date - the liquid egg products have a use by date up to October 2017.

15th August 2017 - Two Dutch men appear in court in connection with the recall. Source: Euractiv

15th August 2017 - The German BfR posted a "Frequently asked questions about fipronil levels in foods of animal origin" section on their website.

15th August 2017 - Globalmeatnews.com report that "No Belgian chicken meat has tested positive for banned insecticide." as confirmed by Belgian Food Authority.

14th August 2017 - The Guardian reports that Belgian chicken meat exported to Africa is tested for banned insecticide. The German BfR have produced a risk assessment for meat from pullets and laying hens.

14th August 2017 - The Telegraph reports "Poison egg backlash: One in three shoppers refusing to eat foreign eggs"

Sources:

[1]  http://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/health-assessment-of-individual-measurements-of-fipronil-levels-detected-in-foods-of-animal-origin-in-belgium.pdf