Contaminated German eggs in UK foods
It has emerged that eggs contaminated with dioxins in Germany may have made their way into foods sold in Britain. The Food Standards Agency says there is no danger to public health.
Cakes and quiches sold in High Street supermarkets may have contained liquid eggs contaminated with dioxins.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said two British manufacturers used the egg to make products for UK retailers.
Fourteen tons of the contaminated liquid egg which originated on continental Europe has entered the UK.
The alert came after it was discovered that poultry feed contaminated by toxic dioxins was sent to more than 1,000 poultry and pig farms in Germany.
Some of the eggs from those farms were then transported to Holland.
The FSA said the egg had been supplied to Kensey Foods in Cornwall, a division of Samworth Brothers, and Memory Lane Cakes Ltd in Cardiff, a division of Finsbury Food Group.
There is no food safety risk from eating these products. FSA
The two manufacturers used the pasteurised liquid egg to produce a range of short shelf life cakes and quiches, which were supplied to the major UK supermarkets.
The FSA said it did not have a “definitive list” of the supermarkets which sold the products, but Tesco and Morrisons were two of them.
The FSA added: “There is no food safety risk from eating these products. The majority of products will have been sold and most have passed their ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates.
“Supermarkets are removing the small amount of products that are still in date.”
Both Morrisons and Tesco said they were withdrawing a small number of products as “a precautionary measure” to reassure customers.
The problem appears to have originated when oils intended for bio-fuel became mixed with oil destined for animal feed.
The dioxin was discovered in late December but the extent of the problem was only revealed this week when German officials said 3,000 tonnes of feed were affected.
Germany has stopped more than 4,700 farms selling their meat and eggs as a result of the scare.
What are dioxins?
Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals that get into our food from the environment.
They have no immediate effect on our health but can cause problems if they are absorbed into our bodies at high levels for long periods.
The levels of dioxins and PCBs in any one individual’s diet will vary depending on the amounts and types of foods they eat.
The risk to health comes from eating food with high levels of dioxins and PCBs over a long period.
They have been shown to cause a wide range of effects in certain animals, including cancer and damage to the immune and reproductive systems, although it appears that humans may be less sensitive.