A verdict on whether formaldehyde is an effective component of bird feed has been in limbo for two years | Fred Tanneau/AFP via Getty Images EU food fight over, yes, formaldehyde Chemical is latest flashpoint in complex Brussels policymaking amid finger-pointing over fatalities in Eastern Europe.

Go easy on the mummy jokes. The EU is having a hard time with formaldehyde.

Following the recent uproar over weed killers and baby cookies, the European Commission’s next big food safety fight is over the use of this pungent gas — best known for its use in embalming corpses — in chicken feed.

The safety of Europe’s food chain has snowballed into an unexpectedly prominent part of Jean-Claude Juncker’s presidency. His Commission has found itself having to burn precious political capital in thankless fights over the herbicide glyphosate and a carcinogen called acrylamide that appears in chips, fries and cookies.

Formaldehyde is another contentious chemical that Juncker needs to worry about. The European Commission is trying to unblock an overdue decision on whether it's safe to continue using it to keep birds — and ultimately humans — from contracting salmonella food poisoning.

A verdict on whether the toxic chemical is an effective component of bird feed has been in limbo for two years. EU member countries are locked in "comitology," the obscure step in EU policymaking in which closed-door technical committees of member countries fight to change existing legislation. The Commission could break the deadlock, but it hasn't taken that step yet.

Although formaldehyde has been used for years to protect against salmonella, health concerns have grown in recent years.

In February, Commission President Juncker proposed an overhaul of the comitology process, to force national governments to take responsibility for decisions made in Brussels. He's accusing member countries of pushing the Commission to take the political blame by taking hard decisions they want to avoid, even when they agree with the EU's executive arm.

Brussels and its member countries are at an impasse over whether to clear glyphosate — the main substance in Monsanto's weed killer known as Roundup — and genetically-modified crops for use. The EU members don't want to make the call themselves, and are pressing on the Commission to, but Juncker is digging his heels in.

Salmonella outbreak

Fed up with the inaction in Brussels over formaldehyde, Poland and Spain took matters into their own hands and stopped putting the substance in chicken feed, amid fears over its cancer-causing potential and safety for workers.

Weeks after Poland gave that order, a widespread salmonella outbreak pinned to a Polish farm led to the deaths of two people last year, a 5-year-old in Croatia and another person in Hungary.

Polish authorities say they found no trace of salmonella in the feed given to the farm’s hens, leading them to conclude the disease originated from another source. Feed manufacturers and the chemicals lobby have seized on the outbreak as evidence of a failure in the EU’s policymaking process.

Investigations by food safety authorities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Norway, Poland, Austria, France, Hungary and the United Kingdom traced the outbreak back to Fermy Drobiu Wozniak, a massive egg farming company in Poland.

In March, the European Food Safety Authority confirmed 218 confirmed cases and 252 probable cases of salmonella were sourced from the Polish farms between May 2016 and the end of February.

The outbreak began just weeks after Poland ordered poultry and egg processors to finish up remaining stocks of formaldehyde-treated feed. The decision was in response to the EU’s 2013 ruling that removed formaldehyde from its list of approved substances for use in agriculture. Although formaldehyde has been used for years to protect against salmonella, health concerns have grown in recent years.

Daniel Wozniak, a sales manager at Fermy Drobiu Wozniak, confirmed there was a salmonella outbreak at his factory last year but declined to answer questions on the source of the outbreak.

A spokesperson for the Permanent Representation of Poland to the European Union denied any connection between the outbreak and the chicken feed used by Wozniak farms. “There is no direct link between the outbreak of salmonella and the ban of formaldehyde,” the spokesperson said, adding that “no traces” of salmonella were found in feed samples from the Polish sites.

Several EU countries argue that they have found effective alternatives to combat salmonella.

“Only in very limited cases would a link [between human and feed cases of salmonella] be established” — Arnaud Bouxin, deputy secretary-general of the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation

“From all the information which is available on the link between salmonella in feed and human cases of salmonella, only in very limited cases would a link be established,” said Arnaud Bouxin, deputy secretary-general of the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC).

But lobbyists say the importance of formaldehyde use in protecting against salmonella is undisputed. Large U.S. animal feed-maker Anitox Corp has begun a lobbying campaign in Brussels, employing Red Flag consultancy to demonstrate the substance should continue to be used in bird feed.

While Anitox declined to comment, Bouxin described Anitox as “extremely active,” saying: “They are trying to exert pressure to achieve a positive opinion at the European level.”

Political standoff ahead

A Commission spokesperson confirmed the decision on whether to reapprove the use of formaldehyde as an antibacterial agent in pig and chicken feed is pending in the comitology committee, the EU Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.

“Formaldehyde is currently authorized as a feed additive only for a limited use as preservative in skimmed milk for piglets,” the spokesperson said. “A reflection is still ongoing on the issue of the authorization of formaldehyde for use as a feed additive."

Poland, Spain, France and Italy say they want formaldehyde out of the food chain because of its potential carcinogenicity. But Denmark and Finland argue salmonella is a more immediate threat.

Finland said it had repeatedly found salmonella in imported feed and other ways of curbing salmonella have proven ineffective. It will continue formaldehyde treatment of animal feed as part of its “zero-tolerance” policy for salmonella, it said.

If governments can't agree, the Commission will have to decide if it wants to take yet another politically-charged decision on behalf of EU countries.

“The Commission's first concern is the protection of human health,” the Commission spokesperson said. “We are exploring all possible options in full compliance with the EU legislation in force.”