EU eyes new food safety measures after egg scandal

By Ilker Girit

ISTANBUL

The European Union said on Tuesday it will take more measures against food fraud cases after a contaminated eggs scandal touched 24 out of 28 member states this year.

"Misdoings and fraudulent practices of a few should not have such devastating effects," EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said in a statement after the high-level meeting in Brussels.

The commissioner said the bloc will improve "risk communication" between the member states to make sure the general public learns about such incidents in a "more coherent and swift way".

He warned that a lack of transparency could “eventually lead to destruction of trust in particular [of the] food industry," Andriukaitis added.

The European Commission is planning to present more proposals to an upcoming the Council of the EU meeting on Oct. 9-10.

The measures include creating common risk assessment on incidents, stretching the rapid alert system for food and holding training and regular crisis exercises.

The origin of the egg contamination was detected in poultry in the Netherlands and has led to the closure of 200 farms in the country.

Since July 20, millions of eggs have been destroyed or taken off supermarket shelves across Europe amid fears they had been contaminated with fipronil, used in insecticides.