The contamination of millions of eggs with a potentially harmful insecticide was caused by criminal activity, the Germany's agriculture minister said today.

"It is criminal, that is very clear," Christian Schmidt told German television station ARD.

He gave no further details.

Retailers in several European countries have pulled millions of eggs from supermarket shelves as the scare over the use of insecticide fipronil widened. Millions of hens may need to be culled in the Netherlands.

There is no such scare in Malta.

Schmidt said no more contaminated eggs should be on store shelves in Germany by now.

The World Health Organisation considers fipronil to be moderately toxic and says very large quantities can cause organ damage. Dutch and Belgian authorities have pinned the source of the insecticide to a supplier of cleaning products in the Netherlands

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