Belgium admitted that since June it had been aware of an egg shipment from the Netherlands that might be contaminated with an insecticide.
The Belgian Food Safety Authority said that the information was kept secret because of an investigation into the case, noting that the country was aware of "since the beginning of June the possibility of the presence of fbrunil in poultry products."
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"We immediately opened an investigation, and we told the Public Prosecutor's Office because it was a case of possible fraud," said Catherine Stranger, spokeswoman for the Food Safety Authority.
Vibronil is found to be in the Dutch eggs. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers fibroneil to be a "toxic medium". The organization notes that insecticide can damage kidneys, liver and lymph nodes and cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and irritation of the eyes. This substance is used to kill fleas, lice and ticks and prevents their use near the food production areas of the European Union.
The shops in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have eliminated potentially contaminated eggs. Germany has confirmed to Belgium and the Netherlands the need to speed up the detection of egg contamination, which it called "criminal" action, requiring the withdrawal of huge quantities of eggs from sales centers in Europe.
"One of them has clearly caused a criminal structure to pollute eggs with banned substance," said German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt. "I am waiting for the competent authorities to quickly and accurately disclose the circumstances of this case, especially Belgium and the Netherlands."
The Netherlands is one of the largest egg exporters in the world and the largest in Europe, exporting an estimated 65% of the total 10 billion eggs produced in the year.
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Around 180 poultry products are temporarily shut down and investigations into the case began when Dutch poultry farmers used a specialized company to eliminate chicken lice, which used the banned fbrunil to treat animals sold in food stores. Export contaminated eggs.
Germany was the hardest hit by the scandal, with the Ministry of Agriculture estimating the amount of eggs exported to "at least three million contaminated eggs." The ministry said the first warning was actually issued in Belgium on July 20, but Berlin was informed only last week of Before the Dutch authorities. However, the German minister noted that "the European warning system that protects consumers was effective."
For its part, the Belgian Food Safety Authority confirmed that the quantities remain below the threshold set in accordance with European law, that is not harmful to the health of consumers.