د.خالد عيسى
هولندا
Fipronil in your breakfast- eggs & honey?
The scandal over contaminated eggs in European countries is growing. To protect customers from the toxic Fipronil, some food discounters started already pulling out all eggs from the shelves. But what about other foodstuffs like mayonnaise, pancakes and pasta, or salads containing eggs? The Netherlands Food and Consumer Products Safety Authority (NVWA) has temporarily closed down about 180 Dutch poultry farms where the fipronil content in eggs was so high that consumption poses an “acute danger to public health”. On the other hand the NVWA suggested that consumption of processed food products should not pose a health risk because most likely the fipronil is strongly diluted in such cases. Anyway consumers are worrying about Fipronil in food and strict control is required.
What exactly is Fipronil?
Fipronil is used as a pesticide to protect crops and a veterinary medicine to kill off fleas, lice, ticks, cockroaches, mites and other insects. It is not allowed anywhere near animals in the food production chain, including chicken. Fipronil is also dangerous for honey bees. To protect the endangered insects, the use of Fipronil on corn seeds has long been prohibited. According to the world health organization (WHO) Fipronil is toxic and can cause kidney, liver, and thyroid damage.