About 40,000 eggs contaminated with pesticide residue have entered the market from a farm in Changhua County despite the farm being subject to “movement control” by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, adding that it has demanded clarification from local agricultural authorities.
FDA Deputy Director-General Tsai Shu-chen (蔡淑貞) yesterday said that when inspectors on Monday visited an egg store, they found eggs from movement-controlled Wenya Livestock Farm.
Tests on the eggs detected 0.05 parts per million (ppm) of fipronil and its metabolites, far in excess of the 0.01ppm limit.
Photo courtesy of the Changhua County Government
Health authorities on Nov. 5 had sealed Wenya Livestock Farm’s eggs after Changhua’s Public Health Bureau found 0.03ppm of fipronil-sulfone in a batch of its eggs, and the issue was reported the issue to the Animal Disease Control Center so movement controls could be implemented, Tsai said.
However, investigations found the egg store had purchased 200 baskets, or about 40,000 eggs, from the farm on Sunday, she said.
About 7,600 eggs have been recalled, and the rest are being traced, Tsai said, adding that other eggs might have already been distributed to breakfast shops or bought by customers.
“Since a ‘movement control’ was already in place, how did the eggs still get distributed?” she asked.
Local agricultural authorities should provide a clear explanation and be held accountable, she added.
The Taichung City Food and Drug Safety Department said it asked the Changhua County Government to investigate whether Wenya Livestock Farm was involved in illegal sales.
When the issue broke out, an emergency recall of eggs from Wenya Livestock Farm had been issued in Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Chiayi City, and Hsinchu, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou and Chiayi counties, the FDA said, adding that 626 cartons of eggs were immediately traced and recalled, while 543 cartons had already been sold to consumers.
Additional reporting by CNA
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