Headlines

The European Union insists that new labelling rules will not prevent shops from selling eggs by the dozen.

The EU moved to reassure retailers and consumers following critical press reports which suggested that new European regulations would result in eggs having to be sold by weight rather than by number.

A report in the Daily Mail claimed that British shoppers would be banned from buying eggs by the dozen once new regulations were approved by the European Parliament. It said, "For the first time, eggs and other products such as oranges and bread rolls will be sold by weight instead of by the number contained in a packet. Until now, Britain has been exempt from EU regulations that forbid the selling of goods by number. But last week MEPs voted to end Britain’s deal despite objections from UK members."

The Daily Mail said the new rules would mean that instead of packaging telling shoppers that a box contained six eggs, it would show the weight in grams of the eggs inside - for example 372g. Or that a bag of white rolls had 322g inside instead of half a dozen. "The rules will not allow both the weight and the quantity to be displayed," said the Mail, which went as far as to suggest that the new regulations could be the first test of David Cameron’s pre-election promise to stand up for Britain’s interests in the EU.
Now, Renate Sommer, the German MEP in charge of steering the new food labelling rules through the EU Parliament, has been forced to intervene to quash fears that shoppers would have to change the habit of a lifetime. She has issued a statement insisting that the regulations will not prevent eggs from being sold by the dozen.

"Selling eggs by the dozen will not be illegal under the terms of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament to EU food labelling proposals," she said in the statement. "Labels will still be able to indicate the number of food items in a pack, whether of eggs, bread rolls or fish fingers.

"Reports that claim the new rules will not allow both the weight and the quantity to be displayed are also wrong. The new food labelling regulation does not affect existing EU rules on the size of eggs: There are four official sizes of eggs: very large (73g and over), large (63g to 73g), medium (53g to 63g), and small (under 53g) - this will not change."

The proposed new regulations have clearly caused concern amongst a number of interest groups in the food industry. Renate Sommer’s statement included a more wide-ranging denial on behalf of the EU. "MEPs are neither trying to ban the sale of eggs by the dozen nor the sale or marketing of Nutella. "There will be no changes to selling foods by number. Selling eggs by the dozen, for example, will not be banned.

"Under current proposals, salt, fat and sugar content would become mandatory information on food labels. Other, existing legislation sets out rules on ’nutrient profiles’, a system that will control a product’s right to carry health and nutrition claims, such as ’high in calcium’ or ’good for your heart’. There is no proposal to put health warnings on food labels or to ban the marketing or sale of any products."

She tried to calm British fears further by saying that the proposed legislation would only be approved if and when it was agreed by the European Parliament and EU member states. "Parliament voted a series of amendments on food labelling legislation on 16 June in first reading. Discussions are ongoing and no agreement is expected before mid 2011. The rules would come into effect three years later for businesses (or five years for small businesses) to allow them time to adapt, so this will not affect supermarkets and grocers until 2014 at the earliest," she said in the statement.

Britain’s new Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, has said that the EU should allow shoppers to buy eggs by the dozen. "We know what customers want. They want to buy eggs by the dozen and they should be allowed to – a point I shall be making clear to our partners in Europe," she said.

And the Food Standards Agency told the Ranger that consumers should not be prevented from buying eggs by the dozen or half dozen. "Consumers are used to buying some products such as eggs by number and we want to ensure this continues. We will continue to press in Europe for the ability to sell food by number, ensuring it appears on the face of the proposals. This will provide clarity for both consumers and industry," said an FSA spokesman.

Eggs have traditionally been sold by the dozen or half dozen because the old imperial measurements were calculated in groups of 12. Early in the 20th Century, eggs were sold from trays on shop counters and carried home in paper bags. However, between the two world wars, it was discovered that eggs kept longer if they were left standing on their ends. The cartons were developed to enable the eggs to be stored in this way.

Conservative MEP Syed Kamall has warned that millions of pounds could be wasted by shops having to change packaging to comply with the new legislation.

The Daily Mail said the scare over selling eggs by the dozen was the latest in a "long line of European Union food policy scandals."

It pointed to a directive passed in 1994 ruling that top-of-the-range bananas had to be ’free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers’. "The directive was ridiculed as a symbol of bureaucratic excess in Brussels," said the Mail.

"In 1988, the EU ruled that top-of-the-range cucumbers must bend by only 10mm per 10cm in a directive designed to help packaging and transport.

"In 1979, another directive ruled that carrots should be termed as fruits, as the Portuguese made jam out of them."

EU leaders are clearly trying to avoid another political embarrassment involving food regulations. Renate Sommer has moved quickly to declare that our dozen eggs will remain free from bureaucratic interference. Many interested observers will be watching to ensure that is the case when the new regulations pass into law.