▲ Eggs containing fipronil

 Eggs are a product of great abundance in Korea. Whenever you go for groceries, to a local store or to shopping giants such as E-mart, Homeplus, eggs are always available. Eggs, however, are facing a problem. South Korean retailers are lowering the prices of their egg products amid a decline in demand. It is because of safety concerns about eggs from local farms were found to be contaminated with harmful chemicals called Fipronil.

 Fipronil is a poisonous chemical used to remove fleas or ticks from dog and cats, It is banned for use in edible chicken according to the laws of veterinary medicine. It can be absorbed by inhalation and ingestion, and can cause symptoms such as convulsions and tremors when you exposed to it. World Health Organization (WHO) warns that if a large quantity of Fipronil is ingested, nausea and dizziness can occur, and the organs such as kidneys are likely to suffer damage.

 The contaminated eggs were first discovered in Europe. They were distributed in 15 EU countries, Switzerland and Hong Kong. And in August 2017, they were also found to be in Korea. It is estimated that about 700,000 eggs were sold in supermarkets in England. And It is estimated that the eggs contaminated with Fipronil were sold for a long period of time prior to intense levels of investigation. The eggs that contaminated with Fipronil were found in Korea in August 2017.

▲ Contaminated eggs are being discarded.

 Beginning August 14, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stopped all of the shipping of its eggs and undertook investigations into every farm that raises more than 3,000 layer chickens. On August 15, Homeplus Co., E-mart Inc., and Lotte mart temporarily stopped the sale of eggs as the Fipronil was detected. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that they completed inspections on 876 farms among 1239 farms, and insecticides were detected in 67 farms, All eggs produced from 32 farms were all discarded.

 Then, can we eat eggs?  Currently, the average daily consumption of eggs is 0.46 per day. The Ministry of Food and Drug Administration and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that eating 2.6 eggs every day is harmless. Since this figure is more than 0.46, we can eat the eggs safely. Sales of eggs have begun again, but the people are still reluctant to buy eggs. So many people use the numbers in eggs to identify contaminated eggs.