Claims linking eggs to cancer risk misleading, scientifically unsupported: FSSAI

The video had claimed the presence of a compound called AOZ — produced by the breakdown of a class of antibiotics called nitrofurans. The use of these antibiotics is strictly prohibited in all stages of production of poultry, according to regulations under the Food Safety Act. There is no evidence, though, to show that these compounds are carcinogenic or cancer-causing.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — a World Health Organisation agency that categorises various compounds according to their cancer-causing ability — classifies nitrofurans in Group 3, which means there is not enough evidence to show that it can lead to cancers in human beings. The trace-level exposure to the compound through diet, therefore, is unlikely to lead to cancer or other adverse health effects, the source from FSSAI said.

The level of AOZ detected in the Eggoz eggs, according to the video, was 0.73μg/kg. This is under the maximum residue limit of 1μg/kg allowed by the FSSAI. The company has since said: “We would like to reassure that our eggs are completely safe for consumption.”
All the recent lab reports of its eggs have been put online and fresh samples have been collected by an independent laboratory for testing as well, the company said.

Some have also questioned why the FSSAI maximum limit stands at 1μg/kg when many other countries maintain it at 0.5μg/kg. This, the FSSAI said, is the minimum level that can be reliably detected by the advanced laboratory methods available in the country. “Detection of trace residues below the EMRL (Extraneous Maximum Residue Limit) does not constitute a food safety violation nor does it imply any health risk,” an official said.