Again increased PCB contamination in organic eggs

PCB contamination in eggs of a organic laying hen farm in the district of Oldenburg

06/05/2012

Again, inspectors discovered eggs with a non-dioxin-like contaminant PCB. The contaminated eggs come from an organic farm in the district of Oldenburg / Lower Saxony, as the Lower Saxony Ministry of Agriculture announced. The big business was closed until further notice.

According to the latest findings, the eggs were delivered from the organic farm to the Netherlands and most likely to several federal states in Germany. On Saturday afternoon, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture confirmed relevant media reports. At present, however, it is not possible to say exactly where the eggs went and to what extent eggs contaminated by them end up in the supermarkets. The ministry now wants to evaluate trade routes based on lists of intermediaries and buyers.

Non-dioxin-like PCB substances in the eggs
Unlike previously reported, it is not about „Dioxin-like PCB“ (polychlorinated biphenyls) but non-dioxin-like PCBs. These are considered as „less dangerous than the 12 PCBs“, which have very similar modes of action and structures, such as dioxin. Although the ministry in Hanover is currently not assuming an acute health risk for consumers, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (RKI) has been commissioned to prepare a hazard analysis.

There is no indication of the specific cause of the pollution. Already after the find detailed investigations were started, with first evaluation results the Ministry of Agriculture expects in the course of the coming week. The first eggs were taken from the confiscated eggs. In addition, the food and the soil are examined.

First found already on 7th of April
The contaminated eggs were discovered in a supermarket in Bavaria. During a check, a load twice as high as the EU limit was allowed. The find took place on April 7th. It was not until April 30 that the authorities received the first results from the egg samples. A spokeswoman for the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety emphasized that the eggs were not even delivered to Bavaria. It therefore remains unclear how the eggs got into the Bavarian discounter and why the analyzes took so much time. Accordingly, it can not be ruled out that consumers have already consumed the eggs to a greater extent

Secured tens of thousands of eggs
The Freilandbiohof is one of the large farms in the region and produces about 18,000 organic eggs every day, as the Ministry of Agriculture in Hanover announced on Friday evening. In a self-inspection, experts discovered eggs contaminated with PCB in a supermarket in Bavaria. The fund was already on Wednesday last week. In the laboratory, the eggs exceeded 100% of the EU standard. According to a ministry spokesman, the eggs had 80 nanograms of PCB per gram of egg fat. The maximum value is a maximum of 40 nanograms of PCB per gram. Then the manufacturer in Lower Saxony was checked first locked.

„Immediately there is no health risk for consumers“, stressed the Ministry of Agriculture. However, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (RKI) was asked for a health assessment.

All eggs are recalled from the trade and may no longer be sold immediately. In addition, government officials confiscated tens of thousands of eggs at the packing stations in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. These eggs are also being sampled. Over 100,000 eggs were also banned in the Netherlands. The Eierhof was closed until further notice. No eggs are allowed to leave the farm, as it was called.

Eggs should not be consumed
Consumers who already have eggs with the Stamp code 0-DE-0357911 Purchased, are called to not consume the eggs, but in the trade against reimbursement of the purchase price to bring back or destroy them on their own. Dioxin and PCB are environmental toxins that are suspected to be carcinogenic and nerve damaging in higher concentrations. The toxic substances accumulate in the adipose tissue of humans and animals and also have a high half-life. „Investigations into the source of entries regarding possible feed, soil, litter or building materials entries will continue“, said the Ministry.

In the last few months, several farms in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony had to be closed because PCBs were discovered in eggs during inspections. Two of the producers were organic farms. Although industrial processing of PCBs has been banned in Germany since the early 1980s, the toxic substance has repeatedly entered the food chain. High loads are reported again and again in rivers and fish. The main reason for this is usually the improper storage of contaminated sites. (Sb)

Read about:
Dioxin in organic eggs: causes still unknown
Health risk from dioxin eggs

Picture: Gerd Altmann / myself