You sparked my curiosity, Palinurus.
I never heard the word "Fipronil" before, so did some checking. It was first introduced into the market as "a broad use pesticide" in May 1996. It is a white powder with a moldy odor. Because it is fairly new, I only came across a few limited studies from outside firms on it's toxicity.
After reading your links, I came across two other articles. In the first, it states that a Dutch firm called Chickfriend purchased the product from a Belgian
firm called Ravels-Weelde, who is suspected of having added Fipronil to an authorized drug (Dega-16 - a natural product consisting of menthol and eucalyptus) for red mite control and then resold this mixture. No information is given, as to the possible effects of the Fipronil - Dega-16 combination and if it increased Fipronil's toxicity? The article also states, "Some experts expect that traces of the insecticide can stay in the abdominal fat of the chicken layers for up to 8 month, rendering them worthless." The second article claims, "Chickens can remain contaminated for between six to eight weeks."
Information that I think is lacking in all of the articles is "When did Chickfriend start using Fipronil and how often was it applied?"
National Pesticide Information Center - General Fact Sheet - Fipronil
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fipronil.html
Fipronil is a broad use insecticide that belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family. Fipronil is used to control ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, termites, mole crickets, thrips, rootworms, weevils, and other insects. Fipronil is a white powder with a moldy odor. Fipronil was first registered for use in the United States in 1996.
Fipronil is used in a wide variety of pesticide products, including granular products for grass, gel baits, spot-on pet care products, liquid termite control products, and products for agriculture. There are more than 50 registered products that contain fipronil.
Fipronil kills insects when they eat it or come in contact with it.
Fipronil works by disrupting the normal function of the central nervous system in insects. Fipronil is more toxic to insects than people and pets because it is more likely to bind to insect nerve endings.
Health effects from a brief exposure to fipronil depend on how someone is exposed to the chemical. Direct, short-term contact with skin can result in slight skin irritation.
When individuals have eaten fipronil, reported health effects included sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache, stomach pain, dizziness, weakness, and seizures. Signs and symptoms from a brief exposure to fipronil generally improve and clear up without treatment.
The amount of fipronil taken into the body across the skin depends on the product formulation. Researchers applied a dose of 79% fipronil to the skin of rats and found that less than 1% of fipronil was taken into the body after 24 hours. When test animals have eaten fipronil, between 15 and 33% (goats) and 30 to 50% (rats) of the ingested dose was absorbed by the body. The rest of the fipronil was eliminated in the feces and urine.
Once in the body, fipronil is found mainly in the fatty tissue, and breaks down into smaller chemicals called metabolites. Fipronil and its metabolites are then
removed from the body mostly through the feces and also in the urine.
Can fipronil affect birds, fish, or other wildlife? Tests were done to find out if fipronil is toxic to fish and creatures in the water without backbones (invertebrates), such as shrimp and water fleas. Scientists found that fipronil is highly toxic to sea and freshwater fish, and highly toxic to sea and freshwater invertebrates. Two fipronil metabolites were also tested in freshwater fish and invertebrates and were more toxic than fipronil.
In other studies,
fipronil was found to be highly toxic to some birds, but practically non-toxic to ducks. Fipronil was also found to be highly toxic to honey bees, but not toxic to earthworms.
Fipronil. May 1996. New Pesticide Fact Sheet. US EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances.
New Pesticide Fact Sheet
https://www.fluoridealert.org/wp-content/pesticides/fipronil.epa.facts.may.1996.htm
Description of the Chemical: Generic Name: 5-amino-1-[2,6-dichloro-4- (trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4-[(1R,S)- (trifluoromethyl)sulfinyl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carbonitrile
Common Name: fipronil
Trade Name: Fipronil Technical; Chipco Choice Insecticide EPA Shaughnessy Code (OPP Chemical Code): 129121 Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Number: 120068-37-3 Year of Initial Registration: MAY 1996 Pesticide Type: Insecticide
Chemical Family: Phenylpyrazoles
Producer: Rhone Poulenc Ag Company
2. Use Patterns and Formulations: Application Sites: Golf Course Turf and Commercial Turf
Fipronil is a phenylpryazole insecticide that was registered for use in 1996 (#NPIC). It is a nervous system disruptor effective on contact or ingestion. Fipronil is often used to treat rice seeds, and can be found in several tick and lice control medications for pets.
Fipronil update
http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Fipronil
Human Health Effects - Fipronil has a moderate acute toxicity to people and mammals. The oral LD50 is 97 mg/kg in rats and 95 mg/kg in mice. It has a slightly to moderately toxic when absorbed through the skin. The dermal LD50 in rabbits is 354 mg/kg. The dermal absorption rate is very slow. In a dermal toxicity study, researchers applied a radio-labeled fipronil solution to shaved rats. Less than 1% was absorbed after 24 hours (#NPIC).
In a study of chronic toxicity, where rats were fed fipronil daily for 52 weeks, researchers found changes in thyroid hormones, increased liver mass, and effects on the kidney. Seizures and seizure-related deaths were also noted. In a similar study, rats were fed fipronil daily for nearly two years. Benign and malignant tumors were observed in the thyroid gland. Due to this, the EPA has fipronil classified as a possible human carcinogen (#NPIC).
The inhalation of fipronil may cause convulsions and tremor (#NIOSH). Exposing the eyes can cause irritation (#PANNA).
Precautionary Notes - Fipronil may degrade into products more or equally toxic. If handling fipronil, avoid exposed areas for a reasonable amount of time. Fipronil and fipronil-sulfone are highly toxic to aquatic organisms. Use caution near water sources. Fipronil may kill many beneficial insects, including honeybees and natural predators to pests.
Fipronil is a broad-spectrum phenylpyrazole insecticide widely used to control residential pests and is also commonly used for flea and tick treatment on pets.
Acute illnesses associated with exposure to fipronil—surveillance data from 11 states in the United States, 2001–2007
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/15563650.2010.507548?src=recsys
It is a relatively new insecticide and few human toxicity data exist on fipronil. Objective. This paper describes the magnitude and characteristics of acute illnesses associated with fipronil exposure.
The Dutch food and product safety board has locked down more than 20 egg farms, because they are suspected of using an illegal insecticide called Fipronil to control red mite.
Belgian-Dutch Fipronil scandal expands Jul 27, 2017
http://www.poultryworld.net/Home/General/2017/7/Belgian-Dutch-Fipronil-scandal-expands-164304E/
Latest estimates from the government agency are that 200 farms are involved, but in what scope is not yet known. Earlier, after the first alarms went off in Belgium,
4 Dutch farms tested positive for residues in eggs above the maximum residue limit of 0,005 mg/kg. Although there is no immediate danger to public health, farms that produce eggs above the threshold cannot go on the market. Some experts expect that traces of the insecticide can stay in the abdominal fat of the layers for up to 8 month, rendering them worthless.
Cause of the contamination - As the scandal unfolds, more and more details are surfacing on the cause of the contamination.
Most of the farms had their houses and/or birds treated by a Dutch firm called Chickfriend. This company bought a product from a Belgian company. The owner of a pest control company in the Belgian Ravels-Weelde is suspected of having added Fipronil to an authorised drug for red mite control and then resold this mixture. The company would have added Fipronil to the product Dega-16. Dega-16 is a natural product consisting of menthol and eucalyptus, which is used to control red mite in laying hens and is –by itself- safe, even for human consumption.
The Belgian government started the investigation after an egg processor in the Belgian town of Sint-Niklaas reported to the Federal Food Safety Authority (FAVV) that it had found Fipronil in eggs. After further research the Belgian authorities informed the European food safety warning system RASFF, because they had leads that
the eggs were being exported to France, Germany, Italy and Poland. This, in turn, alerted the Dutch officials to start to look into the matter.
Dozens of poultry farms have been closed across The Netherlands after a toxic insecticide is believed to have contaminated hundreds of thousands of eggs, Dutch officials said on Tuesday.
Dutch farmers cry 'fowl' as eggs poisoned by insecticide August 01 2017
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/558637/Dutch-farmers-cry-fowl-as-eggs-poisoned-by-insecti
Since last Wednesday "about 180 poultry farms have been shuttered
due to the presence of the suspect substance fipronil" which had been found in samples taken from "eggs, droppings and meat," the Dutch food authority NVWA said.
About a million eggs being transported to Germany have also been recalled from the border with The Netherlands, it added.
The insecticide is commonly used in veterinary products to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks.
But it is banned from being used to treat animals destined for human consumption such as chickens.
It is believed the substance was introduced by a Dutch business, named Chickfriend, which was called in to treat red lice, a nasty parasite in chickens. which was called in to treat red lice, a nasty parasite in chickens.
"We are still estimating the number of farms which have been affected, and the analysis of 600 samples is still ongoing," a spokesman for the NWVA told AFP.
The Dutch news agency ANP said there were about 1,000 poultry farms around the country.
In large quantities, fipronil, is considered to be "moderately hazardous" according to the World Health Organisation, and can have dangerous affects on people's kidneys, liver and thyroid glands.
"Affected farms must have all eggs destroyed by a specialist firm and submit to the NWVA a plan to evacuate the birds' droppings to preserve the environment," the spokesman added.
Chickens can remain contaminated for between six to eight weeks.
Late Monday, the NWVA sent out a warning to consumers that eggs with the code X-EN-40155XX "had such elevated levels of fipronil that their consumption would present a serious public health risk."
The NWVA was on Tuesday still ensuring that the contaminated eggs were being taken off supermarket shelves and has advised people who may have bought them "not to eat them and to throw them away."
Facing large losses, the poultry farmers say they were "cheated" by Chickfriend, which they blame for the incident.
The company appears to have "mixed the illegal substance with a legal one to improve its effectiveness," Erik Hubers from the Dutch agricultural and horticultural association told the NOS broadcaster.
Just came back from my groceries shopping trip and payed extra attention in the supermarket. Found the same result as you did, the note included.
