Contaminated eggs seized at Catalunya port

The contaminated egg scandal across Europe has not affected Spain, a country where the majority of foodstuffs on sale is nationally-produced.

Health authorities stress that none of the eggs affected with the banned pesticide – given to hens to kill off certain parasites but prohibited in the European Union – have reached the shelves in Spanish shops.

The batch of powdered eggs, 50 kilos' worth in total, came from The Netherlands, which is where the fipronil affecting the Belgian-produced eggs that have affected several European countries came from.

Although the amount of fipronil in eggs destined for the retail market is so low as to present practically no risk to human health, the fact that it is a banned substance means all those affected have been taken off the shelves.

This includes chicken and produce made with this and with eggs retailed in 19 EU member States, not including Spain.

Spanish food safety agency AECOSAN, part of the ministry of health, was advised in the case of the Basque and Catalunya egg consignments thanks to the European Union's Rapid Alert System for Foodstuffs and Feed (RASFF), meaning authorities in Spain were aware in time for the eggs to be seized at customs before entering the country.