DutchNews.nl - DutchNews.nl brings daily news from The Netherlands in English

10 July 2025
Newsletter Donate Advertise
  • News
  • Life in the Netherlands
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
  • Search
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • Art and culture
  • Sport
  • Europe
  • Society
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Housing
  • Education
  • News
    • Home
    • Economy
    • Politics
    • Art and culture
    • Sport
    • Europe
    • Society
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Education
  • Life in the Netherlands
    • Latest
    • Opinion
    • Books
    • Travel
    • 10 Questions
    • Learning Dutch
    • Inburgering with DN
    • Food & Drink
    • Ask us anything
  • Jobs
  • Podcast
  • About us
    • Team
    • Donate
    • Advertise
    • Writing for Dutch News
    • Contact us
    • Privacy
    • Newsletter
  • Search

Men behind fipronil egg contamination scandal are jailed for one year

April 12, 2021
Photo: DutchNews.nl
Contaminated eggs. Photo: DutchNews.nl

The owners of a company which sold illegal de-lousing chemicals to hundreds of egg producers, have been jailed for one year by a court in Zwolle.

Judges said the two owners of Chickfriend knowingly and deliberately used cancer-causing fipronil in their product, threatening the health of humans, animals and plants.

Millions of eggs and 3.5 million chickens were destroyed when the banned chemical was found in eggs produced on hundreds of farms in 2017.

The two men, Martin van de B. from Barneveld and Mathijs IJ. from Nederhemert both denied knowing that fipronil was in the ‘miracle’ delousing agent, and blamed their Belgian supplier.

But the court ruled that as the directors of a professional company, they should have been aware what the product contained.

Last month, poultry farmers again had their demand for government compensation over the fipronil in eggs scandal rejected, this time by appeal court judges, who said it is up to farmers to ensure the quality of their product.

That court ruled that the state did not act wrongfully in its approach to the 2017 crisis and that it could, therefore, not be held responsible for the damages.

Negligence

The farmers and farming organisation LTO say the government’s food and product safety board NVWA was negligent in dealing with the crisis.

They argued officials ignored reports dating from November 2016 that fipronil had been found in eggs following the use of the Chickfriend delousing agent.

And they claim if NVWA officials had taken the reports seriously, many farms would not have used the pesticide containing fipronil to control a type of chicken lice, and the scandal would not have become so widespread.

In 2018, a formal report into the contaminated egg scandal slammed egg producers, government inspectors and ministers for failing to put food safety first.

Share this article
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Copy URL
Economy
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation
Latest
Show more
European rights court finds Russia responsible for MH17
England 4-0 Netherlands: Leeuwinnen given masterclass by Wiegman
Utrecht province gives green light to shoot its problem wolf
Dutch firms rethink diversity policies in response to US decree
Stolen VOC documents turn up in attic, packed in an Action box
NewsHomeEconomyPoliticsArt and cultureSportEuropeSocietyEnvironmentHealthHousingEducation
Life in the NetherlandsLatestOpinionBooksTravel10 QuestionsLearning DutchInburgering with DNFood & DrinkAsk us anything
About usTeamDonateAdvertiseWriting for Dutch NewsContact usPrivacyNewsletter
© 2025 DutchNews | Cookie settings

Help us to keep providing you information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated to DutchNews.nl in recent days!

We could not provide this service without you. If you have not yet made a contribution, you can do so here.

The DutchNews.nl team

Donate now

Dutchnews Survey

Please help us making DutchNews.nl a better read by taking part in a short survey.

Take part now