Egg contamination spreads to liquid egg products

While the contamination posed no threat to human health, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) revealed 14 liquid egg product recalls over fears they contained fipronil. Most of the products – which included those by Henrysons Foods, Foodspeed and Braehead – were distributed to food manufacturers and caterers, the FSA said.

The products were being recalled because the insecticide, used to control ticks, lice and other pests, is banned for use in food-producing animals. It came after the FSA revealed about 700,000 eggs potentially contaminated with the insecticide had been imported into the UK.

‘Withdrawn immediately’

FSA chairman Heather Hancock said: “Our advice remains clear – there’s no need to change how you buy or consume eggs. We are responding very quickly to any new information, to ensure that any products left that contain egg from the affected farms is withdrawn immediately.

“We're doing this because fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals, not because we are concerned about any risk to health.”

See below for a full list of recalled liquid egg products.

The recalls came after Elliott predicted more revelations to come in the European egg scandal. The contamination would be found in many more European coutries before it was over, said the chair of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast.

Meanwhile, the British Lion Egg Processors has repeated calls for manufacturers to use British eggs, after the latest fipronil-related recalls.

‘Opportunity for food manufacturers’

British Lion Egg Processors chairman Ian Jones said: “This is a great opportunity for food manufacturers, caterers and retailers to listen to their customers and reassure them by specifying the use of British eggs and using the British Lion eggs logo on packs.

“Consumers are used to buying British Lion shell eggs, and our research shows they also expect retailers, caterers and foods manufacturers to use high quality British eggs in food products. They also want more transparency on food packaging – at present consumers are not able to make an informed purchasing decision.”

The latest recalls came after the FSA recalled a wide range of food products last week, over contamination fears. Last week’s recalls – including Sainsbury and Asda salads – came after the FSA had previously told FoodManufacture.co.uk that there was no evidence of any contamination in the UK.