In an initial report by the KMC, it has been stated that the egg shells were made of calcium carbonate, just like normal eggs and no abnormality had been detected
On the one hand, while civic authorities at English Bazar municipality of Malda district banned eggs from the mid-day meal menu for the next seven days beginning Monday, authorities at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said that the eggs which had been brought in for tests had proved to be harmless.
On March 30, a resident of Tiljala in south Kolkata had complained that the eggs which she purchased from Park Circus Market were made of plastic. KMC mayor Sovan Chatterjee took the complaint seriously and ordered a probe. The next day, Md Shamim Ansari, the dealer who had sold the eggs to the complainant was arrested and sample eggs from his shop as well as other places in the city were sent for a test.
In an initial report by the KMC, it has been stated that the egg shells were made of calcium carbonate, just like normal eggs and no abnormality had been detected. “Sometimes eggs get dehydrated and thus the albumen in the egg gets thicker. Besides, sometimes the eggs laid have less calcium and so the albumen gets thick in that case too. There is no need to panic,” said a senior health official. KMC officials said that the test report of the yolk would arrive in two days.
Egg samples had also been taken to West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences for tests. Along with the 34 eggs that had been collected from Ansari’s shop, there were other eggs that had been purchased from the market. Officials said that the official report that they were supposed to send to the health department of the state government had not been sent but there had been a verbal communication that the eggs confiscated were no different from those which were purchased.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too gave the eggs a clean chit. While addressing a rally at Kharagpur in West Midnapore on Monday, she said, “Till now, according to the report that I have received, there is no problem with any of the eggs. Besides, about 80 lakh eggs are produced in Bengal which are guaranteed safe. Those which are brought in from other states are being investigated.”
One of the state food analysts said that it could have been the way the eggs were stored. “If they were stored in the freezer for a few days there would have been changes in the protein and the complainant could have been mistaken it for plastic. Besides, an egg costs Rs 4 in the retail market. How much would be the production cost of an ‘artificial egg’? I have not seen any of those for real. There are only videos of artificial eggs and cabbages on the internet,” he told DNA.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Fake eggs")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}