2023-04-19 17:06:23
Be careful not to eat eggs from your own chickens if you live in Île-de-France. The Regional Health Agency (ARS) has just recommended no longer consuming eggs and animal products from uncontrolled domestic production, throughout the Ile-de-France region.
After an alert on the concentration of certain organic pollutants in non-marketed eggs from hens raised in domestic urban henhouses near the household waste incinerator located in Ivry (Val-de-Marne), the ARS decided to conduct a study in “25 voluntary domestic poultry houses”.
The results of the study revealed on Wednesday are very poor, and reveal “contamination of all soil and egg samples by the three families of persistent organic pollutants analyzed (dioxins, furans and PCBs)”, according to the ARS press release. Among the 25 sites analysed, two even show levels 40 to 50 times higher than the European regulatory thresholds for particularly high levels of PCBs in eggs.
The origin of the contaminations “not yet established”
In its press release, the ARS recalls that “the regular consumption of food contaminated by dioxins and PCBs leads to a progressive impregnation of the body”, which can have harmful effects on long-term health. A few examples: an increased risk of cancer, fertility and pregnancy disorders, diabetes… No treatment is currently up to date to eliminate these substances from the body. “The main preventive measure consists in avoiding the consumption of the most contaminated food products”, explains the ARS.
The origin of these contaminations is for the moment “not yet established”. Investigations are underway on the 25 sites tested. The owners are forced to immediately stop the consumption of their eggs. The full report of the study will be made public at the end of the first half of 2023.
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