Fipronil: Developments at the European Level

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Oct 20, 2017 - Foods

Fipronil: Developments at the European Level

The EU Commission invited the EU member states to an extraordinary meeting of the Standing Committee in Brussels on August 30, 2017. This was the first time that the Fipronil incident was discussed collectively at the European level. A minutes of this meeting has been available for some time. Among other things, the protocol reports on certain agreements that were reached by the participants of the meeting. In particular, processing factors for egg products (whole egg, egg yolk, egg white, fresh and dried) are mentioned.

Since the processing factors "agreed upon" during the meeting differ from the processing factors agreed upon by the federal and state governments in Germany, the BLL promptly contacted the BMEL after receiving the protocol to inquire whether the federal and state governments were supporting the agreements made by the Standing Committee on August 30, 2017. It became known that a joint EU-wide approach had not yet been finally adopted and that further discussions between the EU Commission and the member states, as well as between the federal and state governments in Germany, were necessary. The BMEL further emphasized that until an agreement is reached at the European level, the "German approach" agreed upon by the federal and state governments will continue to be followed (see more information in the BLL circular letter, particularly the BMEL letter of August 11, 2017 and the letter with processing factors of August 10, 2017).

Despite further discussions between the federal and state governments, the EU Commission, and member states, the situation described above still reflects the current state of affairs. The BMEL has assured the BLL that it will inform the BLL if there are any changes to the "German approach" so that the German economy can then adjust to these changes. Finally, we would like to draw attention to a letter from the Central Association of the Poultry Industry (ZDG), which highlights the consequences of using the Fipronil-contaminated product Dega 16 in laying hen barns and calls for understanding for the strained situation in egg supply. The main problem is that Fipronil is relatively persistent, meaning that the barns may have to remain closed until the laying hens are culled and replaced by young hens. The ZDG assumes that egg supply will not be fully stabilized until the second half of 2018.

Source: BLL circular letter, BMEL letter of August 11, 2017, letter with processing factors of August 10, 2017: www.bll.de