TAIPEI, Taiwan — Retail egg prices have dropped NT$3 per 600 grams, the Poultry Association of the Republic of China said on Monday, demanding that the government provide compensation for the “innocent” egg farmers.
Deputy Director of the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Livestock Department Wang Chung-shu said that the COA is closely monitoring egg prices, and that if they were to drop out of a reasonable price range, the council will initiate measures to counteract the drop, for instance by making mass purchases, or by implementing strategic export controls.
An egg containing more than twice the minimum allowable level of dioxin contamination was discovered at a retail store in Miaoli last week.
Health authorities immediately sealed off three major egg farms that had supplied the retail shop, Ho-chen store, over the past three months: Chun Yi, Hung Chang and Tsai Yuan.
Approximately 6,785 kilograms of eggs wholesaled from the three farms have been confiscated so far.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered that aside from the three egg farms that were immediately sealed off in Changhua, a further six egg farms had supplied the retail shop in Miaoli, the administration’s Director General Wu Shou-mei said on Sunday.
Investigators have begun a probe into the six egg farms, Wu said, but refused to reveal their names.
Wu also defended the FDA on Sunday against a midstream egg wholesaler’s criticism that the administration’s decision to seal off the store before identifying the source of the contamination was “reckless, thoughtless, and even defamation.”
Wu argued that the FDA acted in the public interest and to ensure public food safety, with all moves that were made following appropriate legal procedures.
However, while the three major egg farms in Changhua have been sealed off for seven days starting last Friday, the six additional farms will not be sealed off because there are no official records showing that the they have supplied the Ho-chen retail store.
Animal Feed in Question
The FDA, the COA and the Environmental Protection Administration launched a joint investigation into the source of the dioxin contamination last week, the results of which should be available by this Friday.
While authorities have yet to rule out water and air as possible causes of the pollution, animal feed has been widely considered as the most likely source of the contamination.
According to Wang Chung-shu, the council collected samples from eight animal feed manufacturers used by the nine egg farms in question on Monday.
Wang added that there are currently no laws limiting the legal amount of dioxin residue in animal feed and that the council will discuss establishing such regulations.
