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According to the European Commission, 15 EU countries as well as Hong Kong and Switzerland have received eggs contaminated with the insecticide fipronil.

The commission will hold a meeting with ministers and regulators on September 26.

Its food safety chief has called countries to stop “blaming and shaming” each other.

A row has erupted over how long Belgian and Dutch authorities have known about the contamination.

Eggs, coming mainly from the Netherlands, have been found to contain fipronil, a substance used to kill lice and ticks on animals that is banned by the EU for use in the food industry.

It is thought fipronil was used to combat lice in some chicken farms, affecting the eggs of laying hens.

The insecticide can damage people’s kidneys, liver and thyroid glands if eaten in large quantities. However, food standards agencies are playing down the risks for anyone who has already eaten the tainted eggs.

Farms were shut down in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and France after authorities confirmed that fipronil had been used, European Commission spokesman Daniel Rosario said on August 11.

The EU countries that have received the eggs are the UK, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Denmark. Non-EU Switzerland is also affected.

Image source Pexels

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The revelation that tainted eggs had also been sent to Hong Kong marks the first time the widening scandal has spread outside Europe.

Supermarkets in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have also withdrawn millions of eggs from sale.

On August, France’s Agriculture Minister Stéphane Travert said about 250,000 affected eggs had been sold in the country since April, adding that all products containing eggs from contaminated farms would be taken off the shelves.

In Hong Kong, the government’s Center for Food Safety says it identified two samples of imported Dutch eggs containing excessive levels of fipronil last week and asked shops to remove the products.

It has since tested other European egg imports and has not found any more “unsatisfactory samples”, the South China Morning Post newspaper quoted a spokeswoman as saying.

European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis said on August 11: “Blaming and shaming will bring us nowhere and I want to stop this.

“But first things first. Our common job and our priority now is to manage the situation, gather information, focus on the analysis and lessons to be learned in a view to improve our system and prevent criminal activity.”

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At least 20 tonnes of insecticide-tainted eggs have been sold in Denmark, the country’s food safety authority says.

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said in a statement, the boiled and peeled eggs were mainly sold to cafeterias, cafes and catering companies.

Denmark is the latest European country to discover eggs contaminated fipronil in its food chain.

According to specialists, the insecticide can damage people’s kidneys, liver and thyroid glands if eaten in large quantities.

However, the Danish food administration urged calm, saying the eggs bought by Danæg Products posed no risk to human consumption.

“Samples analyzed in the Netherlands show traces of fipronil in the eggs, but not as a health hazard,” the agency said.

“Because the content is illegal, Danæg Products must withdraw the eggs from their customers.”

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Denmark is believed to be the tenth country to be affected, with Romania and Luxembourg among the latest to report finding contaminated products.

On August 10, Romanian authorities said that one tonne of liquid egg yolk contaminated with fipronil had been found in a warehouse in the west of the country.

The product was imported from Germany but had not been sold to consumers, food safety officials said.

Two company managers have been arrested during joint raids by the authorities in Belgium and the Netherlands, as the scandal involving insecticide-tainted eggs widens.

The company- named as Chickfriend by local media – allegedly used fipronil at poultry farms, prosecutors said.

Fipronil is banned from use in the food industry under EU rules.

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Aldi has withdrawn all eggs from sale from its stores in Germany as they may have been contaminated by insecticide.

Tests showed that the chemical fipronil, which can harm people’s kidneys, liver and thyroid glands, was found in eggs from the Netherlands.

Fipronil is used to treat lice and ticks in chickens.

One German official said up to 10 million of the contaminated eggs may have been sold in Germany.

Agriculture minister for Lower Saxony Christian Meyer told German TV that there was a risk to children if they ate two of the eggs a day.

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About 180 poultry farms in the Netherlands have been temporarily shut in recent days while investigations are held.

Meanwhile, European supermarkets have moved to halt the distribution of eggs from the affected batches.

However, Aldi – which has close to 4,000 stores in Germany – is the first retailer to stop selling all eggs as a precaution.

“This is merely a precaution, there is no reason to assume there are any health risks,” the supermarket giant said in a statement.

Reuters reports that investigators believe the chemical may have originated in contaminated detergent used to clean barns.

Poultry World reported that fipronil may have been deliberately added to an existing insecticide to improve its effectiveness.

The Netherlands is Europe’s largest exporter of eggs and egg products, and one of the biggest in the world. It exports an estimated 65% of the 10 billion eggs it produces every year.