France to publish list of tainted-egg products

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS

France will publish "in the next few days" a list of Fipronil-contaminated products amid a European food scare, Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert said on Tuesday.

Fipronil, classed by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization as a Class II "fairly hazardous" pesticide, has been confirmed in foodstuffs across 17 European countries from the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Germany, Sweden, France, and the U.K., and also as far away as Hong Kong.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Parisien, Travert confirmed he would be able to release the list in the next few days, once analyses has been completed.

The list is set to identify any products made with eggs found to have levels of the substance over and above the minimum allowed.

Travert said it was "probable" that products affected by the insecticide were still on sale, with 14 businesses and 40 "greengrocers" identified as having imported over 50 tons of eggs and egg-based products at risk of being contaminated.

However, the minister dismissed any major health risk, saying it "is very small, when considered alongside the usual eating habits of the French public".

Travert confirmed on Friday over 250,000 contaminated eggs had come into France from Belgium and the Netherlands, which has arrested at least two people over Fipronil contamination.

Since 20 July, millions of eggs have been destroyed or taken off supermarket shelves. Investigations were launched in the effected countries.