Urban farms: eggs too polluted to eat - In the news

2023-11-21 16:43:10

November 21, 2023

This November 20, the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) recommended not consuming eggs from domestic chicken coops across 410 municipalities in the Paris region. The cause: contamination by pollutants.

In the Paris region, thousands of chickens lay eggs every day in urban farms, private chicken coops, shared vegetable gardens and other educational gardens. But in cities, exposure to pollutants remains a concern for food safety. So much so that the ARS Ile-de-France recommended this November 20 to avoid eating these eggs collected in the… polluted outdoors. This measure had already been announced in April following an investigation carried out by the NGO Toxicowatch in the surroundings of the Ivry-sur-Seine incinerator (Val-de-Marne).

According to the field study carried out on 25 sites, 410 municipalities* are concerned throughout the Paris metropolitan area, mainly the capital and its inner suburbs.

A problem that is certainly limited but which concerns many people given the population density in this area. “ If pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children are particularly exposed, the recommendation applies to the entire population of the 410 municipalities concerned. », Confirms the ARS.

POP, PB, PFAS

In details, ” out of all the samples analyzed, only 2 would be considered compliant to be marketed in relation to the thresholds established by European regulations for marketed eggs ».

What substances are we talking about? Eggs collected from domestic poultry houses are exposed to “ contamination ” by ” persistent organic pollutants » (POP). These include, for example, dioxins and furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PB) and per- and polyfluoroalkyls (PFAS). So many substances released into the ambient air due to human activity.

Endocrine disruptors?

As the ARS reminds us, due to these pollutants, “ regular consumption, i.e. several times a week and for several years, of self-produced eggs in private henhouses subjects consumers to overexposure compared to the general population and therefore to an increased risk of developing effects on their health ».

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PB) are, for example, known to alter endocrine function. can initiate chronic diseases and act on the development of reproductive and immune functions ».

*Paris and all the municipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, certain municipalities of Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne and Val-d’ Oise.

Source : ARS Ile-de-France, November 20, 2023
Written by : Laura Bourgault – Edited by: Emmanuel Ducreuzet