The controls on eggs and laying hens are being extended after the fipronil scandal. The alarm raised by the scandal of eggs and egg products contaminated by this insecticide also reaches the South and in particular the Province of Lecce.
SCA Analytical Services is able to perform a multi-residual analysis by searching over 600 active ingredients on eggs and egg products, including fipronil, fipronil-sulfone, amitraz and 2,4-dimethylaniline (amitraz metabolite).
The Ministry of Health announced on 28 August 2017 that it had ordered new investigations to detect the presence of Fipronil directly in laying hen farms, after those on eggs taken from packing centres and egg products. Controls that, after the doubts raised by France, extend to another prohibited insecticide, amitraz and its metabolites, used against flies and considered "moderately toxic".
What's Fipronil? Fipronil (scientific name fluocyanobenpyrazole) is an insecticide, used against fleas, ticks and parasites.
What are the risks to human health? The serious problem in this case is that fipronil is thermostable, and therefore is not altered by cooking and is also found in products derived from eggs or containing eggs (pasta, bread, confectionery).