As an EU-wide scare involving contaminated eggs dominates headlines, BASF has announced it will not reapply for authorization for some uses of its Fipronil pesticide. However, the German chemical giant told news agencies the decision was for business reasons and not related to the current issue.

The EU authorization, which is due to expire on Sept. 30, covers only a small number of applications in treating seeds grown in greenhouses, but BASF said the "high cost" makes the registration process uneconomical.

Use of the insecticide is restricted in some agricultural applications in the EU, due to the threat it may pose to honeybees. Fipronil is also banned from being used to treat animals for human consumption. It is, however, permitted to be used in veterinary products to control fleas, lice and ticks and may also be used in the EU as a biocide to control ants, cockroaches and termites, at least until 2023.

In the Netherlands, a product supplied from Belgium, which should not have contained the chemical, was used to clean henhouses. The misuse became public throughout the EU on Aug. 1 when Dutch authorities ordered certain charges of eggs removed from supermarket shelves. Contaminated eggs have also turned up in Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and France. Belgium and the Netherlands have blamed each other for not making the misuse public earlier. The two general managers of the cleaning firm meanwhile have been arrested.

In large quantities, the insecticide is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be "moderately hazardous" and can have dangerous effects on kidneys, liver and thyroid glands. The German Institute for Risk Assessment said, however, that based on the highest level of contamination found in a single egg, an adult weighing 65 kg would have to eat seven eggs in 24 hours to sustain any health damage.