Eggs destroyed in Taipei as probe results come in
Source : Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/08/31/2003677509)
Staff writer, with CNA
About 10,000 eggs yesterday were taken off store shelves in Taipei, after they were found to have come from a farm in Chiayi County where the insecticide fipronil was detected, the Taipei Department of Health said.
The recall came after the department on Tuesday received a report from its counterpart in the county that excessive traces of fipronil had been found in eggs from Tsai Chun-chieh Livestock Farm, which had been sent to a retailer in Taipei.
All the recalled eggs are to be shipped back to Chiayi County, where they will be destroyed, Food and Drug Division head Wang Ming-li (王明理) said.
Test samples from the Tsai farm and a livestock farm in Hsinchu County came after the Council of Agriculture last week completed an examination of 1,451 egg farms nationwide for possible fipronil contamination.
Concentrations of the toxic insecticide were found to exceed 5 parts-per-billion, or 0.005 milligrams per kg, the maximum residue limit set by the EU, the council said.
Taiwan follows EU standards.
The new finding bring the number of fipronil-affected farms to 45, the statement said, adding that those farms have been put under strict controls and prohibited from transporting any eggs off their premises.
The council launched an inspection of chicken farms across Taiwan on Aug. 20 as the fipronil scare came to light.
The insecticide has also contaminated eggs in Europe and South Korea. The use of fipronil in agriculture and food production is illegal in Europe.
The WHO considers fipronil to be “moderately toxic” to humans. Long-term exposure could cause damage to the kidneys, liver or thyroid gland.
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