Several supermarket groups active in the forecourt sector have had to withdraw products containing egg ingredients, after a banned insecticide, Fipronil, was found to have been used on chickens at a European supplier.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the products affected are processed foods in which egg is one ingredient among many others, mostly used in sandwich fillings or other chilled foods. While in some European countries eggs containing Fipronil residues have been sold as fresh eggs, in the UK this is not the case.

It added that many of the eggs involved were mixed with other eggs which have not come from affected farms so Fipronil residues will be highly diluted.

It said: “Some of the products made from these eggs will have had a short shelf life and will have already been consumed, however, we identified some that were still within the expiry date. These are now being withdrawn by the businesses involved.” The retailers affected are Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and Asda, across a total of 11 products.

The FSA added: “The decision to withdraw these products is not due to food safety concerns, but is based on the fact that Fipronil is not authorised for use in food producing animals. The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland are committed to ensuring that food is safe, and that UK consumers have food they can trust.”