No EU ban for eggs by the dozen

Retailers will not be banned from selling eggs by the dozen, or any other measurement, despite media reports that the EU was set to outlaw the practice.

The NFU and the Food Standards Agency have been looking over the legislation since initial reports over the weekend said selling eggs by the dozen would be banned, but they have been unable to find where there is any mention of a ban in the proposal.

This view has also been endorsed by the European Parliament which said; “Labels will still be able to indicate the number of food items in a pack, whether of eggs, bread rolls or fish fingers. To suggest that British shoppers will not be allowed to buy a dozen eggs in the future is wrong.”

There is nothing in the legislation to prevent a voluntary additional measurement, such as “one dozen”, remaining on packaging.

“In principle, there will be no changes to selling foods by quantity. Selling eggs by the dozen, for example, will not be banned,” added German European People’s Party MEP Renate Sommer.

Also there will be no changes to the grading of eggs by weight ranges under the proposed legislation.

The legislation will now pass before the Council of Ministers and if they do not agree on its wording then it will pass back to the European Parliament for a second appraisal.

If there was agreement between member states and the parliament, the earliest realistic date for implementation would be 2014 or beyond, the European Parliament said.