Action plan on fipronil eggs: foodwatch calls for higher penalties for violations of the law

Berlin, August 14, 2017. In response to the scandal surrounding fipronil-contaminated eggs, the consumer organization foodwatch is calling on the federal government to take effective legal action against health risks and fraud in the food sector. In an action plan published today, foodwatch called for higher penalties for companies that violate food law regulations. In addition, manufacturers should be obliged to ensure complete traceability of their supply chain. And authorities would have to inform the public better and faster in the future, the paper says. 

"Rotten meat, dioxin and now fipronil - many major food scandals follow the same pattern: first there is cheating, then information is given too late and in the end there are no effective political consequences," explained Lena Blanken, food retail expert at foodwatch Federal Food Minister Christian Schmidt must finally enforce higher penalties so that such scandals do not repeat themselves."

According to foodwatch, higher penalties for companies could have a deterrent effect. According to foodwatch, cheating should no longer be worthwhile. In addition, complete traceability must be guaranteed along the entire food supply chain. Currently, food companies only need to know their suppliers and customers. The fipronil scandal has shown that the obligations are not sufficient, the consumer organization criticized. To this day, it is not possible to trace the foods in which contaminated eggs were processed. The foodwatch action plan also envisages that authorities immediately make all existing health-related test results of official food inspection public and accessible to consumers in a comprehensible manner, stating the manufacturer and product names.

The fipronil scandal is getting bigger and bigger. The Federal Ministry of Food assumes that around ten million contaminated eggs may have been delivered to Germany from the Netherlands. Other foods are currently being tested for fipronil contamination in several federal states. The insecticide could have gotten into pasta or cakes during the processing of eggs, for example.

Source: https://www.foodwatch.org/de/