Food Standards Agency updates Fipronil egg withdrawal list with six new items

Products will be withdrawn if the amount of implicated egg is more than 15% of the product
Products will be withdrawn if the amount of implicated egg is more than 15% of the product

The Food Standards Agency has updated its withdrawal list with 6 additional products which have been distributed to catering outlets.

The United Kingdom has been drawn into the European contaminated egg scandal following confirmation by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that eggs contaminated on European farms were imported into the UK.

The FSA have been meeting with industry to gather available information and to set out which products need to be withdrawn.

On 18 August, the FSA updated its withdrawal list with 14 additional products that are still within their shelf life.

Products will be withdrawn if the amount of implicated egg is more than 15% of the product.

Food businesses are being urged to comply with this or show that the egg ingredient used is compliant with the EU maximum residue level.

This proportionate approach will continue to ensure people are buying food they can trust and that the food industry focus is on withdrawing products that do not meet requirements.

'Very unlikely'

It remains very unlikely that there is any risk to public health, but as Fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals, the FSA said they continue to track down implicated food products and ensure that they are removed from sale where they breach the limit.

It remains the case that the egg the FSA has identified represents only a fraction of a single percentage of the eggs the public consumes in the UK every year.

The FSA stresses that there remains no need to change how consumers buy or consume eggs; the FSA said they are not concerned about any risk to health.

The egg which the FSA have found was incorporated into processed foods; fresh eggs on sale in the UK remain unaffected.

85% of the eggs the public eat in the UK are laid domestically. As a precaution, UK eggs are being tested for the presence of Fipronil, and all initial results have been clear.