Contaminated eggs found in UK food supply

Eggs from Germany contaminated with dioxins have found their way into the UK food supply, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said.

But the food watchdog said that the levels of the toxin are too low to cause any harm to members of the public. The warning follows a previous report alerting that animal feed in Germany had been found to contain dioxin, but that this feed, or animals that had eaten it, had not been exported to the UK.

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.

All foods high in animal fats, such as milk, meat, fish and eggs and products made from them contain at least low levels of these chemicals. 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 people may be less sensitive.

The contaminate eggs are NOT being sold in the UK. However some of them have been used to create liquid egg, says the FSA, which has then been exported to the UK and mixed with other liquid egg from non-contaminated sources.

Thus the levels of dioxins in any liquid egg available in the UK will not be high enough to be of any concern to humans who eat it.

Liquid egg is used to make other products such as mayonnaise and baked goods.

According to a EU health spokesman, 14 tonnes of the liquid egg have been exported to the UK. The contamination has resulted in the closure of nearly 5,000 farms in Germany.

The FSA and the EU will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as and when more information becomes available.

This article was published on Fri 7 January 2011