Products implicated in the egg scandal:
- Braeforge Ltd t/a Pensworth Cocovite Liquid Egg Yolk cartons, Lot 292, pack size – 1kg, use-by date: 10/10/2017
- Braeforge Ltd t/a Pensworth Cocovite Liquid egg Yolk cartons, Lot 283, pack size – 1kg, use-by date: 04/10/2017
- Braeforge Ltd t/a Pensworth Cocovite Liquid Egg White cartons, Lot 254, pack size – 1kg, use-by date: 14/09/2017
- Braeforge Ltd t/a Pensworth Cocovite Liquid Egg White cartons, Lot 291, pack size – 1kg, use-by date: 09/10/2017
- Oliver Kay Cocovite Pasteurised Liquid Egg Yolk, Lot 292, pack size – 1 litre, use by date: 10/10/2017
- Oliver Kay Cocovite Pasteurised Whole Egg, Lot 255, pack size – 1 litre, use-by date: 15/09/2017
Liquid egg yolk, white and whole liquid egg products have been recalled by Cocovite’s parent company Braeforge Ltd in relation to the scandal.
Cocovite products are supplied to foodservice businesses and 14 other Cocovite egg products were recalled earlier this month.
Fipronil was used in cleaning products on Dutch chicken farms, but regulations prohibit the use of the insecticide in food manufactured for human consumption.
Withdrawn from sale
Yesterday (24 August), the FSA said egg products would be withdrawn from sale if the “amount of implicated egg is more than 15% of the product”.
The organisation has continually stressed the contaminated eggs do not pose a risk to human health and urged consumers not to change the way they buy eggs.
“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,” added the FSA.
“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.”
On its website, Cocovite said: “Last month, we were notified that a number of our supplier farms were affected by high concentrates of Fipronil in eggs. We can guarantee you that all our Cocovite products are free of any contamination.
‘Free from Fipronil’
“Since then, we have withdrawn all affected products and we are now testing all liquid egg at a certified laboratory and can provide our customers with certification that Cocovite products are free from Fipronil contamination.”
The Fipronil egg scandal worsened on 10 August when the FSA upped its estimation of how many contaminated eggs were likely to have entered the UK’s food chain.
It was first believed just 21,000 eggs were affected, however, this estimation was soon increased by 3,233% to 700,000 eggs.
Meanwhile, the scandal has led to scrutiny of the egg supply chain, with critics calling for a complete overhaul of the egg and egg product imports.