EU Says Contaminated Egg Scare Now Under Control

The European Union says a pesticide-contaminated egg scare in some EU countries is under control.

In this June 19, 2015 file photo, eggs sit waiting to be cooked at a cafe in Des Moines, Iowa. The U.S. government's latest report card released Thursday, April 20, 2017, on food poisoning suggests that campylobacter, a germ commonly linked to raw milk and poultry, is surpassing salmonella at the top of the culprit list. The report counts cases in only 10 states for nine of the most common causes of foodborne illness, but is believed to be a good indicator of national food poisoning trends. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
In this June 19, 2015 file photo, eggs sit waiting to be cooked at a cafe in Des Moines, Iowa. The U.S. government's latest report card released Thursday, April 20, 2017, on food poisoning suggests that campylobacter, a germ commonly linked to raw milk and poultry, is surpassing salmonella at the top of the culprit list. The report counts cases in only 10 states for nine of the most common causes of foodborne illness, but is believed to be a good indicator of national food poisoning trends. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says a pesticide-contaminated egg scare in some EU countries is under control.

Dozens of farms were being checked in the Netherlands, and Belgium's food safety agency was probing how the anti-tick and flea pesticide Fipronil might have entered eggs destined for supermarkets. Fipronil is banned in products for treating animals like chickens that are part of the human food chain.

European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said Thursday that "the eggs are blocked. The contaminated eggs have been traced and withdrawn from the market and the situation is under control."

Belgian food authorities say suspect eggs have been destroyed and there is no danger to public health given the small amounts of the pesticide that might have entered any eggs that reached the market.

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