Taipei Wholesaler Found Selling Insecticide-tainted Eggs

TAIWAN - Random egg samples from a wholesaler in Taipei have been found to contain traces of the insecticide fipronil, and a recall order has been issued to all the businesses it supplies, the city's Department of Health said in a report Monday.
calendar icon 19 September 2017
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The wholesaler, Yung Chi Eggs Co. in Xinyi District, has also been ordered to stop selling eggs supplied by Chen Kun Livestock Farm in Tainan, which is believed to be the source of the contaminated products, the department said.

According to the report, the fipronil contamination was 10 parts per billion (ppb) in the samples from Yung Chi Eggs.

Focis Taiwan reports that the health department said it has ordered a full recall of the eggs sold by the wholesaler and has informed the Tainan City government of its findings.

The department tested random egg samples from supermarkets, shopping malls, schools, and wholesalers in Taipei, which are supplied by 41 farms around the country.

The samples from Yung Chi Eggs were the only ones that tested positive for the insecticide fipronil, the department said in its report.

Fipronil contamination of eggs was first reported in Taiwan in late August after "poisonous eggs" were said to be in the food supply chain in Europe and South Korea.

Taiwan follows the European Union standard for the maximum fipronil residue in eggs, which is 5 ppb (0.005 mg/kg) although the use of fipronil in food production for human consumption is illegal in Europe.

According to the World Health Organization, fipronil is "moderately toxic" to humans if consumed in large quantities and can affect the kidneys, liver and thyroid gland.

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