Apr 19, 2017

Poultry industry rubbishes rumours of ‘plastic eggs’

“Reports about Chinese eggs coming into the market are false," said the NECC
The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) denied reports of sale of plastic eggs in the market during a press conference in the city on Tuesday. Reports have recently surfaced that ‘Chinese’ plastic egg lookalikes were being infiltrated in Indian markets. The poultry industry had also reported a dip in the sales following the speculations.
Prasanna Pedgaonkar, deputy general manager of Venkateshwara Hatcheries, while addressing the media, ruled out the possibility of any such adulteration. “Reports about Chinese eggs coming into the market are false. The Indian poultry industry ensures production of 100 per cent white-shelled eggs, while the eggs which originate from China are 100 per cent brown,” he said. Production of artificial eggs, NECC members added, would be costlier than production of natural eggs and no economic benefit could be derived out of it.
The poultry industry, however, has reported a 10 per cent drop in consumption and sale of eggs in recent days. Pedgaonkar said Maharashtra, on an average, sees consumption of two crore eggs per day, with Pune reporting consumption of around 60 lakh eggs on a daily basis. “The dip in consumption was due to a combination of reasons and the rumours certainly had a part to play,” he added.
On the reports of a change in the texture of eggs, he said that was because of thermal shock due to high temperature. “At the farmgate, the temperatures are over 40 degrees Celsius, while at shops, the temperatures suddenly drops to 20 degrees Celsius. This leads to thermal shock and texture change,” he said. Meanwhile, the same press conference also saw senior officials from the Food and Drugs Administration talking about remote chances of adulteration in eggs.

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