ANKARA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Federation of Food and Drink Industry Association on Friday denied claims that Turkey has exported toxic eggs, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
"There is no trace of (poisonous) residue in eggs produced in Turkey," Anadolu quoted Semsi Kopuz, head of the association, as saying in a statement.
"The tainted egg crisis is a political debate," Kopuz added.
He pointed out that some countries were using the issue to worsen relations between Germany and Turkey.
On Thursday, Turkish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ahmet Esref Fakibaba said Turkey remains unaffected by the latest toxic egg scandal.
A probe into domestic eggs has detected no trace of insecticide fipronil, the minister noted.
Fakibaba also said the ministry was closely following the crisis and conducting regular tests on domestic eggs.
Over the past months, Europe has been hit by an egg scandal caused by fipronil, which is considered a health hazard at a specific level.
Hundreds of farms, where the eggs were produced, halted operations, while millions of eggs were removed from shelves and destroyed.
The EU Commission accused Turkey of exporting tainted eggs.
Turkey is the third largest egg exporter in the world with an export value of nearly 290 million U.S. dollars and a global share of 8.6 percent.
According to EU and Turkish legislation, fipronil is not allowed to be used in any edible animals.
