At the end of the garden, behind a beautiful house, Sousou, Blanchette and Chaussette frolic in their chicken coop. From 3 hens, Alexis went to 6 hens, barely two weeks ago… Bad timing! Since yesterday, Thursday April 20, the health authorities have temporarily recommended not to eat domestic eggs from the Ile-de-France, potentially contaminated with persistent pollutants.
Urban producers waiting for a solution
The father of the family fears the disappointment and frustration of his relatives: “I have not yet spoken to the children, nor to my wife. I am waiting for the beginning of a solution or the beginning of an answer, before putting the subject on the table”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. Thanks to its 3 hens, the family produces around 200 eggs per year for its personal consumption.
But, the time to clear things up, no more homemade eggs on the plates: “For the children, we don’t want to take this risk. We will try to see what the alternatives are, do we can have our hens tested, for example? To find out if we are really concerned by this problem”.
“I don’t find it very sensible”
Installers of urban poultry houses also wonder. Tanguy Lorphelin is director of the company To each his own hen. Since the provisional recommendation of the ARS, he has received several calls from customers worried about knowing the procedure to follow, by telephone or on the networks.
“We could be recommended not to eat products from Île-de-France in the end. I find that it is not very sensible. The air we breathe, we know, is polluted. ‘We’re going to be told not to breathe? No.’ he laments. “It’s a shame, because I think it’s a beautiful movement to reclaim your diet”.
The regional health agency must deliver its final analysis at the end of June. For all practical purposes, the Ministry of Health publishes a “Little guide to safe self-consumption”.