Belgium will seek damages over a contamination scandal that saw millions of chicken eggs pulled from supermarket shelves there and in other countries, authorities said on Wednesday.

Freshly laid eggs are seen on a production line at a poultry farm in Wortel near Antwerp, Belgium August 8, 2017.

The Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria and Poland have also been affected by the scare resulting from the illegal use of fipronil, a potentially harmful insecticide, in the poultry industry.

"In case of a fraud committed by the operators, their civil liability must be accounted for in order to remedy the damage caused," the government said in a statement.

It said Belgium was also entitled to seek compensation for "general economic losses, costs incurred and any other damage."

The government spokesman could not immediately be contacted for further clarification.

Dutch police on Thursday arrested two suspects in the case, both directors at Dutch firm Chickfriend, which is at the center of the scandal. Calls to the company went unanswered on Wednesday.

Source: Reuters