Egg scandal: Dutch watchdog under scrutiny

The Hague

YEARS of cuts at the Dutch food watchdog agency and a tendency among politicians to put economics ahead of public safety may be to blame for the European Union's (EU) tainted-egg scandal that has spread as far as Hong Kong.

Millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves across Europe and dozens of poultry farms have closed since it emerged on Aug 1 that eggs contaminated with fipronil, which can harm human health, were being exported and sold.