Food safety worldwide

Germany and the EU have detailed food laws and publish yearly test results. Egypt created one central food-safety authority in 2017 and has issued many rules, but we could not find public yearly test reports for food sold inside Egypt. Because of this, the two countries cannot be compared directly on most questions. Missing data is not proof of a problem, but it means caution is needed in both directions.

When fruit and vegetables from Egypt are tested at EU borders and in German shops, they break EU pesticide limits more often than the average for imported food, and some products like peppers and vine leaves are checked extra often. German-grown produce breaks the limits in about 1 in 100 samples. Breaking a legal limit does not automatically mean a health danger, and EU experts rate the overall risk as low. These numbers say nothing about food sold inside Egypt.

We found only a few local studies on pesticide residues in vegetables sold at Egyptian markets. One study from Sharkia found many residues above limits, but it was small and local. Egyptian official checks use different limits from the EU, so their results cannot be compared with EU numbers. Washing and peeling can reduce some residues. A general statement that vegetables are harmful because of pesticides is not supported for Germany and cannot be tested for Egypt with the data available.

In the EU, about 1 in 800 official samples of animal foods breaks the residue rules. Small studies from Egyptian towns found antibiotic residues in many chicken samples, sometimes above legal limits. These studies are too small and too different in method to be compared with EU numbers or to describe all of Egypt. The bigger health concern is that misuse of antibiotics helps resistant bacteria spread, not direct poisoning from residues.

In the EU, giving antibiotics to animals to make them grow faster has been banned since 2006, and preventive group treatment is strictly limited; sales in Germany fell by two thirds since 2011. In a survey of Egyptian farms, most staff said they also used antibiotics without the animals being sick. So Dr. Elawady's warning fits some Egyptian farm practice better than current EU rules. Resistant bacteria are a problem everywhere antibiotics are overused.

Using hormones to make farm animals grow is banned in the EU, and German tests found only 1 problem sample in about 38,000. For Egypt we found only one small study, and its test method cannot tell added hormones apart from the hormones that occur naturally in meat. There is no good evidence that chickens are given growth hormones in either country. Young farmed tilapia are often treated with hormones to make them all male, but we found no data on leftovers in fish sold to consumers.

Salmonella bacteria can be found in chickens and eggs everywhere, including in the EU, where about 1 to 2 in 100 laying-hen flocks carry the most dangerous types. Small Egyptian studies found Salmonella more often, but they used different methods and cannot be compared directly. Proper cooking and clean kitchen practice protect against Salmonella in both countries. This is a reason for careful handling, not proof that eggs or chicken are harmful in themselves.

Long-lasting pollutants such as dioxins and PFAS ('forever chemicals') end up in the environment and in animal foods like eggs and fish everywhere. EU experts say many Europeans take in more than the recommended safe amount over the long term. In German tests, only about 1 in 180 egg samples was above the legal limit. For Egypt there is hardly any data. This is a general environmental problem, not a reason to think that one egg is poisonous.

Aflatoxin M1 is a toxin from mould that can get into milk when cows eat mouldy feed. Egyptian studies found it often, sometimes above the EU limit, but results differ a lot between studies. It is a question of feed storage and climate, not of hormones. We did not compare it with EU numbers because we did not have comparable EU data.

Peanuts from Egypt are often stopped at EU borders because of aflatoxins, which are mould toxins that can cause liver cancer. The EU checks 30 % of these shipments. This is a problem of drying and storing peanuts, not a reason why all legumes are harmful. Border numbers show what is exported, not what Egyptians eat.

Fish from some heavily polluted Egyptian lakes, like Lake Manzala, contained more lead than EU rules allow. Fish from other areas tested within limits. In Germany, fish only rarely exceed limits. So the risk depends a lot on where the fish comes from, not on fish as a food in general.

Egypt is Africa's largest fish farming country, and most farms fill their ponds with water drained from farmland, which can carry pollutants and medicine residues. One Egyptian study found no drug or pesticide residues in the fish it tested. Fish farming in the EU works differently and has its own controls. The warnings about farmed salmon do not automatically apply to Egyptian tilapia, and the reverse is also true.

Leafy vegetables such as spinach and lettuce naturally contain nitrate, and the EU sets upper limits. We found no studies measuring nitrate in vegetables sold in Egypt. So no comparison is possible.

Raw vegetables, sprouts and herbs can sometimes carry harmful bacteria, in the EU as everywhere. A large German outbreak in 2011 was caused by sprouts. EU inspectors found Egypt's controls for exported strawberries and herbs to be good in 2024. Washing produce and good hygiene reduce the risk; this is not a reason to avoid vegetables.

In Germany, almost everyone has tap water that meets strict standards. In Egypt, almost everyone has a basic water source, but about 1 in 5 people do not have water that meets the international definition of 'safely managed'. Water quality can affect stomach and gut health, which is a different issue from food choices.

Some people inherit G6PD deficiency, a condition in which eating fava beans can destroy red blood cells. In an Egyptian hospital study about 4 in 100 newborns had it, more often boys. It is much rarer in people of Northern European origin. For people with this condition fava beans are truly dangerous, but for everyone else they are not.

The EU's alert system records problems found in food at its borders and in shops. Egyptian fruit, vegetables, herbs and peanuts appear there regularly, mostly for pesticides and mould toxins, so the EU checks many of these shipments more often. But Egypt is not allowed to sell chicken, eggs, milk or farmed fish to the EU at all, so these alerts tell us nothing about those foods. And border alerts never describe food sold inside Egypt.