The regional health agency (ARS) of Île-de-France recommended on Wednesday not to consume eggs and “animal products of uncontrolled domestic production”, throughout the region, because of a “contamination” with “persistent organic pollutants”.
“Regular consumption of food contaminated with dioxins and PCBs leads to a gradual impregnation of the body which can have long-term health effects,” the ARS said in a statement.
The agency conducted a regional study of the “contents of persistent organic pollutants” in the eggs of 25 domestic chicken coops in the Ile-de-France, after an “alert on the concentration of dioxins in non-marketed eggs” from chicken coops located near the incinerator of waste from Ivry-sur-Seine.
Fourteen of the chicken coops analyzed are located near the three main incinerators in the Paris region (Ivry-sur-Seine, Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Saint-Ouen), specifies the ARS.
The results of this study “highlight contamination of all the samples by the three families of persistent organic pollutants analyzed (dioxins, furans and PCBs)”, indicates the press release.
This means that these pollutants are present “throughout the urban environment, and not specifically around incinerators”, warns the ARS.
The agency points out that of the 25 poultry houses analyzed, “two have particularly high levels” of PCBs in eggs, exceeding by 40 to 50 times “the European regulatory thresholds for marketed eggs”. These two sites are located more than 3 km from an incinerator, adds the ARS.
Among the health risks associated with the consumption of these products, the ARS lists an “increased” risk of cancer, “fertility and pregnancy disorders”, as well as diabetes and “endocrine disrupting effects”. .
“There is no treatment to remove these substances from the body,” she cautions, noting that the “main preventive measure” was to avoid “consumption of the most contaminated food products.”