FOMCA urges authorities to be stricter on egg labelling

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) has urged the authorities to be stricter with egg producers over the proper labelling of information and expiration dates on eggs sold to consumers.

Its deputy secretary-general Nur Asyikin Aminuddin said following the notices issued by Singapore on recalling eggs produced by Malaysian companies from its market, FOMCA had received about 1,000 calls from consumers expressing concern over the safety of eggs produced in the country.

She said based on surveys done by FOMCA at several small supermarkets and grocery shops, it was found that the labels found on crates of eggs were incomplete, and there was no information at all about the manufacturer or producer.

"In addition, eggs sold in sundry shops usually do not have an expiration date for consumer reference. This makes it difficult for consumers to trace whether the egg products they buy are involved with the batch produced by the farms involved.

On March 13, Singapore ordered four importers in the country to recall eggs produced by Lay Hong Bhd Layer Farm in Jeram, Selangor.

A week later (March 20), Singapore withdrew eggs imported from another Malaysian farm from its market, and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) informed that the eggs had the code "CEM014" printed on them.

-- BERNAMA