An inspection of eggs conducted by the Council of Agriculture (COA) and Ministry of Health and Welfare starting in February showed that 2 among 54 sample items were found to contain veterinary drug residues, including one from a source that provides eggs to 7-Eleven for hard-boiled tea eggs.
The 2 samples with animal drug residues contained florfenicol, doxycycline and nicarbazin, which are legal for general veterinary use, but are prohibited for use in egg-producing hens, the COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said yesterday.
Egg samples from a farm in Chiayi County were found to contain florfenicol and doxycycline. The ranch was fined US$1,000 by the COA for violating the Veterinary Drugs Control Act. The other site, in Changhua County, was fined US$20,000 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.
The Chiayi- farm (also belongs to 7-Eleven group) provides eggs to 7-Eleven, the nation’s largest convenience store chain, for hard-boiled tea eggs. The contaminated samples came from a batch of about 24,000 eggs that were supplied to 7-Eleven in February.
A ranch spokesperson said that the ranch followed drug-use rules on when to stop the drug, but it was possible that the egg-producing hens had slower metabolisms at the time, so the drugs remained in their systems longer than usual.
The inspection bureau said that although the drugs have maximum residue levels established for hens that are not producing eggs, there is no maximum residue limit set for eggs. Therefore, any amount found in eggs is prohibited. In other hens, the maximum residue limit is 0.1 parts per million (ppm) for florfenicol and doxycycline, and 0.2ppm for nicarbazin.
The bureau said it has discussed the issue with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and will set a maximum residue limit for eggs, so that egg farmers will have a standard to follow when using veterinary drugs.
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