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Romanian poultry producers assure eggs from professional farms are safe to eat
Romania's poultry producers under the umbrella of the Poultry Breeders Union (UCPR) assure that Romanian poultry farms do not use broad spectrum insecticide Fipronil to eradicate parasites, UCPR said in a release last week.
"Under European legislation, the use of this insecticide on animals intended for human consumption is banned. Romanian poultry farmers are required by law to check the level of chemical residues in poultry products, both through official controls and through self-controls," the document states, adding that no such chemical residues were revealed by the checks carried out by the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) in the specialized laboratories under its authority.
"The analysis data sheets issued by authorized laboratories as a result of official controls and self-checks for pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, antinematode compounds, rodenticides) are in line with national and European legislation. We mention that Romanian poultry farms are permanently monitored by ANSVSA and the results are recorded in thousands of compliance analysis data sheets annually. We assure the public that poultry products from Romanian professional farms are safe for human consumption," the release reads.
Inspectors of the Timis County Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Department seized on August 9 one tonne of Fipronil-tainted liquid egg yolk coming from Germany, in an action carried out following a notification received through the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
The European Commission announced that 15 EU states are affected by the widening tainted eggs scandal, Reuters and DPA report.
The tainted eggs were distributed in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, France, UK, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Denmark, and in two non EU countries, specifically Switzerland and Hong Kong, said EC spokesman Daniel Rosario.
The European Commission will call an emergency meeting of ministers over insecticide-tainted eggs in a bid to end “blaming and shaming” over the scandal, health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said on Friday (11 August), euractiv.com infoms.
Andriukaitis told AFP he wanted the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany to stop trading accusations about who is responsible for the scare, which involves fipronil, a chemical that can be harmful to humans.
“Blaming and shaming will bring us nowhere and I want to stop this,” the Lithuanian Commissioner said in response to emailed questions.
“But first things first. Our common job and our priority now are to manage the situation, gather information, focus on the analysis and lessons to be learned in view to improve our system and prevent criminal activity,” Andriukaitis said.
“That is exactly what I have discussed with the German, Belgian and Dutch ministers this week. I proposed to hold a high-level meeting gathering the ministers concerned as well as the representatives of the food safety agencies in all member states involved as soon as we have all the facts available,” he added.