The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland have been meeting with industry to gather all the available information and to set out clearly which products need to be withdrawn. Products will be withdrawn if the amount of implicated egg is more than 15% of the product. Food businesses must comply with this or show that the egg ingredient used is compliant with the EU maximum residue level.
This proportionate approach will continue to ensure people are buying food they can trust and that the food industry focus is on withdrawing products that do not meet requirements.
It remains very unlikely that there is any risk to public health, but as Fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals we continue to track down implicated food products and ensure that they are removed from sale where they breach the limit.
It remains the case that the egg we have identified represents only a fraction of a single percentage of the eggs we consume in the UK every year. There remains no need to change how you buy or consume eggs; we are not concerned about any risk to health.
The egg which we have found was incorporated into processed foods; fresh eggs on sale in the UK remain unaffected. 85% of the eggs we eat in the UK are laid here. As a precaution, UK eggs are being tested for the presence of Fipronil, and all initial results have been clear.
Investigations are ongoing, and we will continue to publish updates on a regular basis.
We continue to trace egg products which might contain Fipronil. Today we have updated our withdrawal list with six additional products, which have been distributed to catering outlets.
