Poultry farmers hold Barneveld company liable for toxic substance in eggs

A number of poultry farmers are holding Barneveld company ChickFriend responsible for their production being halted and their eggs being recalled. The NVWA stopped production at some 180 poultry farms and recalled their eggs after toxic substance fipronil was found in them, ANP reports.

Fipronil is an insecticide used against ticks, fleas and lice. The poultry farmers called in ChickFriend to fight blood lice. A number of farmers told Dutch union for poultry holders NVP that they've informed ChickFriend in writing that the company will be held liable, union chairman Hennie de Haan said to the news wire on Tuesday.

"That does not seem foolish to me. They received a service from them, which caused the damage", De Haan said. "But I assume the company also has liability insurance."

ChickFriend was unreachable on Tuesday, according to the news wire. The message on the company's voicemail said that they are unavailable due to "business circumstances".

On Monday Dutch food and consumer product safety authority NVWA issued a public health warning and called on consumers not to eat any eggs with the code X-NL-40155XX - the X's represent numbers. The fipronil concentration in these eggs are so high that they pose a health risk. A number of other eggs contain high enough concentrations to be risky for children. A full list can be seen on the NVWA website.