Drug trace issue must be dealt with

The controversy over drug residues in eggs has yet again cast its shadow over the industry. New figures from the Government's Veterinary Residues Committee appear to show that 4.8 per cent of eggs carry traces of the anti-coccidiostat Lasalocid.

The figures were seized upon by the Soil Association which claimed that over 450 million eggs were affected last year and that 40 million of them contained levels six times higher than recommended levels.

Daily Mail readers were told that the contamination level was 12 per cent and that a billion eggs were affected.

The newspaper said the residues could harm heart disease sufferers as well as young children, the developing child in the womb and anyone who eats large quantities of eggs. The Soil Association even suggested that Lasalocid might be linked to unexplained deaths known as Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.

The SA advised consumers to limit egg consumption and advised eating organic eggs as "these have to be the safest option".

The only way Lasalocid traces can get into eggs is through contamination at feed mills. Even mills which obey procedures for cleaning down after a run of feed containing drugs can fail to eliminate all traces of residue. The tests carried out on eggs are massively more sensitive than those used in the mills.

The problem can be eradicated by insisting that layer feed comes from a mill or at least individual lines in mills that never carry feed containing drugs. Some mills have been dedicated to non-drug feeds for as long as seven years.

John Widdowson, vice-chairman of BFREPA, said: "However exaggerated the claims are on this issue they are extremely damaging to our industry. Yet the problem can be solved. The industry has been rightly praised for its efforts in defeating salmonella and by comparison this is a simple issue to deal with. There are just a few dozen mills involved. The industry must act."