We explain to you why it is not recommended to consume eggs from domestic henhouses in more than 400 municipalities in Ile-de-France.

The Regional Health Agency maintained on Monday, for the entire Paris metropolitan area, its recommendation issued in April. The cause: “contamination” with “persistent organic pollutants” whose effects can be harmful to health.

A consumption that should indeed be avoided. In Ile-de-France, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) maintained, on Monday November 20, its recommendation not to eat eggs from domestic henhouses in 410 municipalities in the Paris metropolitan area (including Paris, all of municipalities of Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, certain municipalities of Seine-et-Marne, Yvelines, Essonne and Val-d’Oise).

In question, according to the definitive study of the ARS: a “ubiquitous contamination [généralisée] soils and eggs from domestically farmed chickens in Paris and in the departments of the inner suburbs by persistent organic pollutants [les POP]“ such as dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (called Pfas or “eternal pollutants”), details the agency in a press release.

With regard to professional breeding, which is subject to separate controls, the ARS states that“no non-compliance” was not noted “since five years”. The number of checks has also increased since the start of 2023.

Increased risk for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women

What are the risks for those who eat eggs from domestic chicken coops? According to the ARS, which issued this precautionary recommendation in April, regular consumption, “several times a week and for several years”leads “a potential endocrine disrupting effect that can initiate chronic diseases and act on the development of reproductive and immune functions”.

And in the long term, this exposure may increase “the risk of cancer, fertility and pregnancy disorders, metabolic effects such as diabetes for example and endocrine disrupting effects”details the ARS to the Parisian. Moreover, if this consumption is at risk for the entire population, it is particularly not recommended for pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children, who “represent the most sensitive population, including during fetal development”.

This final recommendation from the ARS follows analyzes carried out by the health agency on 25 voluntary chicken coops, including fourteen located near the three main waste incinerators around Paris (Ivry-sur-Seine, Issy-les-Moulineaux , Saint-Ouen) and eleven others who are far from it.

Identical soil quality for the entire urban area

The ARS study followed another study, published in February 2022 by the ToxicoWatch foundation. This Dutch NGO specializing in the toxicological analysis of pollutants had revealed very high levels of toxins coming from domestic chicken coops close to the Ivry-Paris 13 household waste incinerator, located between the 13th arrondissement of the capital and Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne).

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes as well as “In terms of dioxin emissions into the environment, the worst sources of pollution are uncontrolled waste incinerators (solid waste and hospital waste), due to incomplete combustion”. However, chronic exposure to dioxins has been classified as “carcinogenic” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency of the WHO. “On the other hand, it does not alter the genetic heritage and, below a certain level of exposure, the carcinogenic risk would be negligible”specifies the Circ.

The ARS specifies Parisian that the study carried out in recent months “does not conclude that there is overexposure near the incinerators”, but “that the quality of the soil is similar throughout” of the 410 municipalities in the Paris metropolitan area where it is recommended not to consume eggs from domestic henhouses.