WARSAW: Poland’s veterinary service on Friday recalled some 4.3 million eggs contaminated with an antibiotic, just days after Dutch eggs were pulled from supermarket shelves in Germany.
Officials ordered the eggs, on sale in the domestic market, to be removed following an inspection.
“The recall is caused by the presence of residues of the antibiotic lasalocid at a rate exceeding its maximum allowed value,” a statement said.
The head of the Polish veterinary service Pawel Niemczuk said the drug was added “erroneously” to the feed given to laying hens on a farm near Poznan.
“The feed for fattening chickens (which legally uses the antibiotic) was mistakenly given to laying hens,” he told the Polish news agency PAP.
On Tuesday German authorities pulled around 73,000 Dutch eggs from supermarket shelves after they were found to be contaminated with fipronil, the same insecticide that sparked a huge food scare last year.
The agriculture ministry of Lower Saxony said the batch of tainted eggs had come from an organic farm in the Netherlands, but insisted there was no danger to human health.
The scare revived memories of last year’s fipronil scandal, when millions of eggs contaminated with the insecticide had to be destroyed in 45 countries around the world.
Commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks from animals, fipronil is banned by the EU from use in the food industry.
When eaten in large quantities fipronil can harm people’s kidneys, liver and thyroid glands, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 4 million eggs recalled in Poland
More than 4 million eggs recalled in Poland
- The scare revived memories of last year’s fipronil scandal, when millions of eggs contaminated with the insecticide had to be destroyed in 45 countries around the world
- German authorities pulled around 73,000 Dutch eggs from supermarket shelves after they were found to be contaminated with fipronil
Albanese announces bravery award for heroes of Bondi antisemitic attack
- The proposed honors would recognize those who are nominated and recommended for bravery or meritorious awards under the existing Australian Honors and Awards system for their actions during and after the attack
NEWCASTLE: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans Thursday for a national bravery award to recognize civilians and first responders who confronted “the worst of evil” during an antisemitic terror attack that left 15 dead and has cast a heavy shadow over the nation’s holiday season.
Albanese said he plans to establish a special honors system for those who placed themselves in harms way to help during the attack on a beachside Hanukkah celebration, like Ahmed al Ahmed, a Syrian-Australian Muslim who disarmed one of the assailants before being wounded himself.
Sajid Akram, who was killed by police during the Dec. 14 attack, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram are accused of perpetrating Australia’s worst massacre since 1996.
Speaking at a press conference after a Christmas Day lunch at a charitable foundation in Sydney, Albanese described a Christmas defined by a sharp contrast between extremist violence and the “best of humanity.”
“This Christmas is a different one because of the anti-terror and the terrorist attack motivated by Daesh and antisemitism,” Albanese said. “But at the same time as we have seen the worst of humanity, we have seen the bravery and kindness and compassion ... from those who rushed to danger.”
The proposed honors would recognize those who are nominated and recommended for bravery or meritorious awards under the existing Australian Honors and Awards system for their actions during and after the attack.
’Difficult fortnight’
Just a day after pushing through the country’s toughest firearm laws, New South Wales state leader Chris Minns issued a plea for national solidarity, urging Australians to support their Jewish neighbors during what he described as a fortnight of “heartbreak and pain.”
“Everybody in Australia needs to wrap their arms around them and lift them up,” Minns said at the same press conference Thursday. “I want them to know that Australians have got their back. We’re in their corner and we’re going to help them get through this.”
Tougher gun laws
The gun reforms which passed through the New South Wales state legislature on Christmas Eve include capping individual gun ownership at four and reclassifying high-risk weapons like pump-action firearms.
The legislation also tightens licensing by reducing permit terms to two years, restricting ownership to Australian citizens, and removing the review pathway for license denials.
“Gun reform alone will not solve hatred or extremism, but we can’t fail to act on restricting access to weapons which could lead to further violence against our citizens, Minns said earlier in the week when introducing the proposed laws.
Other new laws will ban the public display of terrorist symbols and grant police expanded powers to restrict public gatherings in specific areas following terrorist incidents.
Albanese has also announced plans to tighten Australia’s already strict gun laws.
