The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said that more than half of the pre-washed eggs or eggs in cartons sold on the market do not come with proper nutritional labels.
The foundation said that a test of 17 types of packaged eggs sold around the country showed that 10 of the brands did not provide proper labeling of nutritional facts.
Many of the packaged egg brands, however, claim that the eggs are rich in nutrition — claims that cannot be verified by consumers as the products do not come with proper labeling, the consumer rights watchdog said.
The foundation said when the Department of Health was asked about the matter, it said as eggs are fresh food products, firms were not required to provide nutritional information.
Foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said he did not agree with the department’s stance.
“Our investigation showed that 41 percent of the brands did provide nutritional labels, which means this is not something businesses cannot do,” he said.
Hsieh questioned the motive behind the health authorities’ protection of businesses and urged the government to protect consumers’ rights by imposing stricter standards.
The foundation said its investigation showed that carton eggs that bear the Certified Agricultural Standards (CAS), International Standards Organization (ISO) or Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) logo charge NT$0.50 more per egg, which is about NT$5 more per carton than eggs without these standard certifications.
The foundation said that businesses should not transfer the cost of having their produce certified to customers by charging a premium. It also urged consumers to pay more attention to nutrition labeling.
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