The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has refuted claims linking egg consumption to cancer, declaring them "misleading, scientifically unsupported, and capable of creating unnecessary public alarm". In a statement released on Saturday, December 20, 2025, the food regulator asserted that eggs sold in India are safe for human consumption.
The clarification follows media reports and social media posts that alleged the detection of nitrofuran metabolites (AOZ) – substances purportedly linked to cancer – in eggs available in the country. The FSSAI emphasized that India's regulatory framework aligns with international standards. It noted that variations in numerical benchmarks across countries reflect differences in analytical and regulatory approaches, and not differences in consumer safety standards.
FSSAI officials have clarified that the use of nitrofuran antibiotics is strictly prohibited in India at every stage of poultry and egg production under the Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins and Residues) Regulations, 2011. The regulator has prescribed an Extraneous Maximum Residue Limit (EMRL) of 1.0 µg/kg for nitrofuran metabolites for regulatory enforcement purposes. The FSSAI has clarified that this limit is not a health-based safety threshold but a technical reference value, representing the lowest concentration that modern analytical techniques can reliably detect in laboratories. The detection of trace residues below the EMRL does not constitute a food safety violation nor does it imply any health risk.
Regarding public health, the FSSAI cited scientific evidence showing no causal link between trace-level dietary exposure to nitrofuran metabolites and adverse health outcomes in humans. Furthermore, the regulator stated that "No national or international health authority has associated normal egg consumption with increased cancer risk".
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organisation agency, classifies nitrofurans in Group 3, meaning there isn't enough evidence to show that it can lead to cancer in humans.
The FSSAI urged consumers to rely on verified scientific evidence and official advisories, reiterating that eggs remain a safe, nutritious, and valuable component of a balanced diet when produced and consumed in compliance with food safety regulations. "Generalising isolated laboratory findings to label eggs as unsafe is scientifically incorrect," the FSSAI stated.
The recent controversy began after a video claimed that eggs by the brand 'Eggoz' were found to have the presence of "possible carcinogenic" substances. The company has since responded by stating that their eggs are completely safe for consumption. They have also published recent lab reports online and collected fresh samples for independent testing.
FSSAI's Egg Safety Drive has been initiated to enhance testing protocols and ensure compliance with food standards, involving random sampling from farms, markets, and processing units across states.
