FDA finds high dioxin levels in eggs

CHANGHUA FARMS: The FDA said the eggs would be removed from shelves by today and that the ‘excessive’ exposure levels are still under the WHO standards

By Wu Liang-hsin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer





Excessive dioxin residues have been found in eggs from three chicken farms in Changhua County, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday, ordering the farms to immediately suspend sales and retailers to take merchandise from the farms off their shelves by 3pm today.

The FDA told an impromptu news conference that it received reports on Tuesday from National Cheng Kung University, which was commissioned to conduct the tests, that eggs sold by the distributor Hocheng Retails in Toufen Township (頭份), Miaoli County, carried residual dioxin in quantities as high as 5.2 picograms (pg) per gram of fat, more than double the national standard of 2.5pg/g.

The FDA said it, along with the Council of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), on Thursday tracked the source of the eggs to three farms around Wanggung Township (王功) in Changhua County: Chunyi (駿逸), Hungchang (鴻彰) and Tsaiyuan (財源) farms.

Food and Drug Administration Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, addressing reports that excessive dioxin residue has been found in eggs from three chicken farms in Changhua County. Photo: CNA

The farms have between 80,000 and 90,000 chickens which are estimated to produce 65,000 eggs per day, the council said.

FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said investigations are still being conducted regarding the farms’ contracted retailers and their other customers.

Council official Wang Chung-shu (王忠恕) said it is prohibiting the farms from relocating chickens or selling eggs for seven days, adding that the council would station staff on-site to continue monitoring.

Should the eggs fail to pass a second test, the council would demand that all the eggs are destroyed, Wang said.

Eggs from the contaminated sources should not be available for sale, but consumers should not be overly concerned, the council said.

All products from the farms are expected to be removed before 3pm today, Wang said.

The EPA said it is looking into potential sources of contamination within 3km of the farms, such as industrial establishments or metal refineries, adding that soil, water and air samples have been sent for analysis.

In 2005, more than 1 million duck eggs were destroyed in Changhua due to excessive dioxin residue, Lin said, adding that the FDA could not conclusively say whether the two cases are linked until further tests have been carried out.

The public should not worry, as even if one were to ingest eggs with excessive dioxin levels their entire lives, the daily exposure, 0.49pg/kg per day, would still be lower than the level suggested by the WHO, which recommends 1pg/kg to 4pg/kg a day, he said.

Believed to be a byproduct of burning metal, dioxin is considered a carcinogen by the WHO and is easily reansferred to the body via contaminated food and water, or through inhalation.