Eggs safe for consumption, cancer risk claims are misleading: FSSAI

NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Saturday said that eggs available in the country are safe for human consumption and recent claims linking eggs to cancer risk are misleading, scientifically unsupported and capable of creating unnecessary public alarm.Responding to reports and social media posts alleging the presence of carcinogenic substances such as nitrofuran metabolites (AOZ) in eggs, FSSAI officials clarified that the use of nitrofurans is strictly prohibited at all stages of production of poultry and eggs under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011.Officials said an Extraneous Maximum Residue Limit (EMRL) of 1.0 µg/kg has been prescribed for nitrofuran metabolites solely for regulatory enforcement purposes.This limit represents the minimum level that can be reliably detected by advanced laboratory methods and does not indicate that the substance is permitted for use.“Detection of trace residues below the EMRL does not constitute a food safety violation nor does it imply any health risk,” an official noted.The clarification from FSSAI has come after controversy started when a viral video on social media claimed that eggs from the Eggoz company contained nitrofuran, an antibiotic that is banned on food-producing animals, though residues can still appear in eggs due to illegal usage.Addressing reports related to the testing of a specific egg brand, officials explained that such detections are isolated and batch-specific, often arising from inadvertent contamination or feed-related factors, and are not representative of the overall egg supply chain in the country.



Source link