FSA News Item, 7 January 2011

CONTAMINANTS - Update on dioxin contamination of pasteurised liquid eggs

The Food Standards Agency is providing further information about the distribution of pasteurised liquid whole egg to the UK from the Netherlands that may have been made with eggs contaminated with dioxins.

The pasteurised liquid whole egg (that is including the white and yolk) was produced using eggs from Germany that could contain levels of dioxins that are above the legal limits. These eggs were subsequently mixed with non-contaminated eggs to produce pasteurised liquid egg, an ingredient used widely in the manufacturer of cakes.

This pasteurised liquid egg has been supplied to two manufacturers in the UK. These are:

• Kensey Foods, Cornwall – a division of Samworth Brothers
• Memory Lane Cakes Ltd, Cardiff – a division of Finsbury Food Group

These manufacturers used the pasteurised liquid egg to produce a range of short shelf life cakes and quiches, which were supplied to the major UK supermarkets.

There is no food safety risk from eating these products. The majority of products will have been sold and most have passed their ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates. In light of this information some supermarkets are choosing to voluntarily remove the small amount of products that are still in date.

See also related news items:

• 7 January 2011 CONTAMINANTS - Statement by John Dalli, Commissioner in charge of Health and Consumer Policy, on the dioxin incident in Germany
• 6 January 2011 CONTAMINANTS - Questions and Answers – Dioxin incident in Germany
• 6 January 2011 CONTAMINANTS - Update on dioxin contamination of pig and poultry feed in Germany