Photo taken on Aug. 9, 2017 shows eggs sold in a Belgian market, in Brussels, Belgium. Millions of contaminated eggs were withdrawn from the market last week in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, after it was discovered that the eggs had presence of fipronil. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
BRUSSELS, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Belgium's Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), who was criticized for its lack of communication in the case of contaminated eggs, said the investigating judge in charge of egg contamination with the fipronil insecticide requested that "no information other than public health measures should be disseminated."
FASFC made the statement in a chronological document published Wednesday as a response to the critics about its inaction related to the food security scandal.
The prosecution also requested that the names of the suspected companies not be quoted, added FASFC.
The agency, aware of a potential contamination since June 2, is however under fire from critics for delaying to warn the authorities and neighboring countries.
In large quantities, fipronil is an insecticide considered to be "moderately toxic" to humans by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is strictly forbidden in animals intended for human consumption.
On June 2, 2017, the FASFC received the first notification from a Belgian company informing that via its own analyzes there was a potential problem with fipronil. In the ensuing investigation, the Food Agency blocked 86 companies.
During the analysis phases, FASFC considers that it did not need to communicate to the general public, having "taken the necessary steps to avoid the progression of contamination in the the food chain". According to FASFC, "none of the samples of eggs taken in Belgium indicate a danger to public health".
According to the FASFC, the presence of fipronil in eggs in the Netherlands was detected in November 2016. "No official confirmation from the Netherlands has reached us," the Belgian Minister of Agriculture Denis Ducarme in the Chamber of Deputies.
The Netherlands is Europe's largest egg producer and one of the largest exporters of eggs and egg products in the world.
So far, contaminated eggs from the Netherlands have been found in Belgium, Germany, France and possibly other European countries.
In total, 180 farms in the Netherlands are confirmed to have used an anti-lice poison which contained Fipronil. In one case the concentration was so high that Dutch authorities warned consumers about "acute danger" of the affected eggs.
