Danish hobby chicken owners challenge advice to buy supermarket eggs

Danish hobby chicken owners are challenging a recommendation from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration to supplement home-laid eggs with supermarket eggs, DR reports. The agency found PFAS levels above the limit in 16 of 54 samples collected from hens in private gardens over two years, while no exceedances were found in supermarket eggs.

The agency says that eating eggs with excessive levels of dioxins and PFAS over a long period can be harmful to health. It has also told owners that they can have their eggs tested for a fee by commercial laboratories.

PFAS is a collective term for more than 12,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are also known as forever chemicals because they are almost impossible to break down in nature. The substances can accumulate in the body over time and harm health.

The recommendation has prompted criticism from hobby chicken owners, who have described it as a scare campaign and brainwashing. Around 80,000 households in Denmark are estimated to keep hobby chickens.

Finn Jensen, chairman of the Frit Fjerkræ poultry association, called the agency’s statement irresponsible. He said the authorities should instead share information about how owners could reduce potential contamination affecting their hens.

Hens kept in private gardens spend more time outdoors and may be exposed to environmental pollution as they peck in the soil. They also eat earthworms, insects and larvae, which research shows may contain PFAS.

The agency says prolonged consumption of eggs with excessive levels of dioxins and PFAS can affect hormones, cause cancer and damage the immune system. It also stresses that following the recommendation is up to each individual.

Critics say the study was not based on a representative sample of eggs from garden hens. Instead, participants could sign up through the agency’s social media channels.

Signe Wenneberg, a member of parliament for the Alternative party and a long-time chicken owner, called the statement an unnecessary scare campaign. She said on the P1 Orientering programme that people who volunteered may have been especially concerned about pollution on their property.

Jensen acknowledged that authorities could not force private owners to provide samples, but said this also meant the recommendation should be taken with a grain of salt. He continues to eat eggs from his own garden hens and said he believes one egg a day is acceptable for him.

Henrik Dammand Nielsen, head of unit in the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s department for chemistry and food quality, said the agency was not trying to create a scare campaign. He said it had a duty to inform the public about particular risks, adding that eggs are known to be a food in which PFAS can accumulate.

However, Nielsen acknowledged that the finding of excessive PFAS levels in 16 of the 54 samples was not representative of all hobby chicken owners in Denmark. Each sample consisted of between 10 and 15 eggs.