The German government has recalled tens of thousands of eggs shipped from the Netherlands due to fears they are contaminated with an insecticide. File photo by Patrick Huisman/EPA-EFE

June 12 (UPI) -- Germany said it has recalled more than 73,000 eggs from the Netherlands because they are believed to be contaminated with the insecticide fipronil.

Berlin agriculture officials said the suspect eggs were sold in Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Bavaria, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia.


Officials said some of the contaminated eggs have already been sold. They were delivered between May 17 and June 4 to a packing center in the Lower Saxony district of Vechta.

The eggs came from a Dutch organic hen farm, agricultural officials said.

The European Union bans the use of fipronil, which is often used to kill lice on animals.

Fipronil residue found on the eggs in Germany exceeded the permitted EU level, but was well below that which would pose a health risk.

Last summer, grocers in three European countries recalled millions of eggs after a similar fipronil contamination. They also originated in the Netherlands, which is Europe's largest egg producer.

"This is not a renewed use of fipronil in stables of poultry farms. It certainly does sound like a residue issue. Barns may have been flushed out," Rob Hageman, a spokesman for the Dutch consumer safety authority, told BBC News.

"It puts Dutch eggs in a bad light again."