Branded Egg Invasion Into Malaysia's Market To Be Regulated - UK - Branded eggs have "invaded" the shelves of some supermarkets, depriving consumers of a choice of the normal graded eggs, said Malaysia Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam.

He said the enforcement division of the ministry in Perak would commence an operation to ensure that graded eggs were displayed alongside the branded ones.

"At least one supermarket in Ipoh has been found selling only branded eggs whereas the Grade A, Grade B or Grade C eggs are not sold."

"This is unfair as consumers must be given a choice," he told reporters after closing a consumer seminar organised by Fomca here yesterday.

Branded eggs contain Vitamin E, low cholesterol and no antibiotics, and more expensive than graded eggs which cost 22sen (Grade A), 21sen (Grade B) and 20sen (Grade C) each.

Subramaniam said consumers should lodge a report with the enforcement division if supermarkets were not selling graded eggs at their outlets.

On mutton, Subramaniam said its significant price increase notably during the recent Deepavali celebration was primarily caused by the increase in the foreign exchange value of the Australian dollar.

He said mutton would be made a price-controlled item in 2004.

Source: eFeedLink - 19th November 2003