Eggs(tensive) sale: Over 14.4m units sold per day in Lahore
In last few weeks PFA disposed 1.1m rotten eggs
PHOTOS: FILE
LAHORE:
The sale of eggs increased by almost 40% to a whopping 14.4 million per day as the temperatures dipped further in the provincial capital.
With the booming egg market, expired and adulterated eggs have also made their way onto the shelves.
Nearly 35,000 to 40,000 egg crates are sold daily in Lahore. Each crate has 360 eggs.
In the last few weeks alone, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) disposed of 1.1 million rotten eggs in the province that originated from Chichawatni and Sahiwal.
Most of the egg crates are supplied to Lahore by traders based in Okara, Sheikhupura, Sahiwal, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Chichawatni and Gujarat. Local poultry farms also supplement the overall production.
An egg a day could keep diabetes at bay
A spokesperson from the Punjab Food Authority told that it is mandatory to have a batch number imprinted on the eggs and citizens can complain to the authority over noncompliance by vendors.
It is also incumbent on traders to stamp an expiry date on each egg under the Punjab Food Authority Act 2011, but almost 90% of the stores, shops and restaurants defy the law and sell expired eggs to the customers.
“In the current weather conditions, eggs can be used within 10 days of production,” PFA officials told The Express Tribune, adding “while in warmer weather conditions, eggs expire after 3-4 days of production, however, frozen eggs can be used within a week even during warmer months.”
During the course of the inquiry, it was also discovered that the vendors stain broiler eggs using tea leaves to sell it as brown eggs (desi eggs) to the unaware citizens. Desi eggs sell for Rs36 more for a dozen compared to the broiler eggs priced at Rs124 per dozen.
Plastic eggs: Police raid on DHA shop puts Karachi in eggs-istential crisis
Shaikh Amjad, an egg trader, said “Yes, some businessmen use tea water to colour the broiler eggs to make these brown and this is their own choice.”
“They do it because broiler eggs sell cheaper compared to brown eggs, though the latter is smaller in size,” he added.
A vendor, who sells boiled eggs in Gulberg Market, said he buys fresh eggs daily, but no expiry date is ever mentioned on these nor can he write any date as the ink dissolves upon boiling. On the other hand, the city's leading stores and bakeries have been found to buy eggs that have a stamped batch number and expiry date on them.
Those eggs that expire are either sent back to the farms or turned into a powdered form, through specialized machines, before turning foul to increase shelf life. Powdered eggs are utilized by bakeries and factories for food production.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2019.
The sale of eggs increased by almost 40% to a whopping 14.4 million per day as the temperatures dipped further in the provincial capital.
With the booming egg market, expired and adulterated eggs have also made their way onto the shelves.
Nearly 35,000 to 40,000 egg crates are sold daily in Lahore. Each crate has 360 eggs.
In the last few weeks alone, the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) disposed of 1.1 million rotten eggs in the province that originated from Chichawatni and Sahiwal.
Most of the egg crates are supplied to Lahore by traders based in Okara, Sheikhupura, Sahiwal, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Chichawatni and Gujarat. Local poultry farms also supplement the overall production.
An egg a day could keep diabetes at bay
A spokesperson from the Punjab Food Authority told that it is mandatory to have a batch number imprinted on the eggs and citizens can complain to the authority over noncompliance by vendors.
It is also incumbent on traders to stamp an expiry date on each egg under the Punjab Food Authority Act 2011, but almost 90% of the stores, shops and restaurants defy the law and sell expired eggs to the customers.
“In the current weather conditions, eggs can be used within 10 days of production,” PFA officials told The Express Tribune, adding “while in warmer weather conditions, eggs expire after 3-4 days of production, however, frozen eggs can be used within a week even during warmer months.”
During the course of the inquiry, it was also discovered that the vendors stain broiler eggs using tea leaves to sell it as brown eggs (desi eggs) to the unaware citizens. Desi eggs sell for Rs36 more for a dozen compared to the broiler eggs priced at Rs124 per dozen.
Plastic eggs: Police raid on DHA shop puts Karachi in eggs-istential crisis
Shaikh Amjad, an egg trader, said “Yes, some businessmen use tea water to colour the broiler eggs to make these brown and this is their own choice.”
“They do it because broiler eggs sell cheaper compared to brown eggs, though the latter is smaller in size,” he added.
A vendor, who sells boiled eggs in Gulberg Market, said he buys fresh eggs daily, but no expiry date is ever mentioned on these nor can he write any date as the ink dissolves upon boiling. On the other hand, the city's leading stores and bakeries have been found to buy eggs that have a stamped batch number and expiry date on them.
Those eggs that expire are either sent back to the farms or turned into a powdered form, through specialized machines, before turning foul to increase shelf life. Powdered eggs are utilized by bakeries and factories for food production.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2019.