10.2 Eggs Please.
Discussion
Back Off Brussels.UKPA said:
The coalition has pledged to oppose draft EU regulations that could prevent eggs being sold by the dozen.
An initial decision by the European parliament may mean all groceries being sold by weight rather than numerical quantities.
If the rules come into force, they could spell the end of packaging descriptions such as eggs by the dozen, six bread rolls, or 10 fish fingers.
Even promotional offers such as eight chocolate bars for the price of six could fall foul of the legislation, according to trade magazine The Grocer.
The fears surfaced after MEPs voted against an amendment to new Food Labelling Regulations last week that would have allowed individual states to nominate products that could still be sold by number.
Countries are currently allowed to specify exemptions, but the proposed system does not make that provision.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman insisted the changes appeared to go "against common sense".
"Shopkeeping is a long-standing British tradition and we know what customers want. They want to buy eggs by the dozen and they should be allowed to - a point I shall be making clear to our partners in Europe," she said.
Tory MEP Syed Kamall added: "At a time when all businesses are under pressure to keep costs down, this directive will put further pressure on corner shops, bakers and supermarkets. These costs will be passed on to customers and could put up the price of eggs and baked goods.
"In Britain, millions of pounds could be wasted by shops and bakers having to change packaging just to comply with a directive which nobody here asked for or voted for."
An initial decision by the European parliament may mean all groceries being sold by weight rather than numerical quantities.
If the rules come into force, they could spell the end of packaging descriptions such as eggs by the dozen, six bread rolls, or 10 fish fingers.
Even promotional offers such as eight chocolate bars for the price of six could fall foul of the legislation, according to trade magazine The Grocer.
The fears surfaced after MEPs voted against an amendment to new Food Labelling Regulations last week that would have allowed individual states to nominate products that could still be sold by number.
Countries are currently allowed to specify exemptions, but the proposed system does not make that provision.
Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman insisted the changes appeared to go "against common sense".
"Shopkeeping is a long-standing British tradition and we know what customers want. They want to buy eggs by the dozen and they should be allowed to - a point I shall be making clear to our partners in Europe," she said.
Tory MEP Syed Kamall added: "At a time when all businesses are under pressure to keep costs down, this directive will put further pressure on corner shops, bakers and supermarkets. These costs will be passed on to customers and could put up the price of eggs and baked goods.
"In Britain, millions of pounds could be wasted by shops and bakers having to change packaging just to comply with a directive which nobody here asked for or voted for."
Parrot of Doom said:
Load of fuss over nothing. Eggs may still be sold in dozens, just not by the dozen. The difference to you or me? Zero.
guess that would depend if you are a grocer / packager...Overall result though is that it is completely unnecessary meddling in areas which there is simply no need to meddle in, it's bureaucratic idiocy that should be stamped out at ALL levels - give em an inch and all that...
Eggs are already effectively sold by weight (range) since sizes are based on weights:
Very Large: >73g
Large: 63-73g
Medium: 53-63g
Small: <53g
If implemented for eggs, this presumably means your eggs will be priced by the gram, so you'll be paying a more accurate price for your 6 or 12 eggs rather than a less accurate price. Like, OMG, storm the barricades. FFS.
Unless someone has some more concrete information than this speculation, it reads like the usual anti-EU straight banana publicity nonsense.
Very Large: >73g
Large: 63-73g
Medium: 53-63g
Small: <53g
If implemented for eggs, this presumably means your eggs will be priced by the gram, so you'll be paying a more accurate price for your 6 or 12 eggs rather than a less accurate price. Like, OMG, storm the barricades. FFS.
Unless someone has some more concrete information than this speculation, it reads like the usual anti-EU straight banana publicity nonsense.
Parrot of Doom said:
Load of fuss over nothing. Eggs may still be sold in dozens, just not by the dozen. The difference to you or me? Zero.
Maybe so but should they even be concerning themselves with such things right now. At a time when our government is endeavoring to cut public spending, I wonder just how much public money is wasted even drawing up these proposals. Then even if enacted individual countries will exempt any that don't suit them nationally.It's a waste of time and Europe's tax payers money.
FourWheelDrift said:
thinfourth2 said:
You can't buy a pint of milk anymore you can only buy 0.568litres
They still have 1 pint, written on them, or 2/4/6 pints. So they are. They are the same they always were just have 2 different measures on the side.The sooner the ruddy Euro collapses the better.
hooperpride said:
In reality very little will change.
As already said, the amount it will change things is really irrelevant, it is the fact that we are paying people to sit and come up with crap that is neither needed, nor wanted. It was bad enough wasting money for petty meddling when the economy was on the up, now it's in the s
t, cutting this sort of pathetic bureaucracy should be seen as an instant way to cutting the deficit!
HundredthIdiot said:
Eggs are already effectively sold by weight (range) since sizes are based on weights:
Very Large: >73g
Large: 63-73g
Medium: 53-63g
Small: <53g
If implemented for eggs, this presumably means your eggs will be priced by the gram, so you'll be paying a more accurate price for your 6 or 12 eggs rather than a less accurate price. Like, OMG, storm the barricades. FFS.
Unless someone has some more concrete information than this speculation, it reads like the usual anti-EU straight banana publicity nonsense.
What will happen is that each box will be weighed and then priced individually - then on top of normal price of eggs you'll be paying for the additional measuring and labeling process so you'll be paying more, all so some twonk can implement a rule about 'fair' pricing even though everyone is perfectly happy buying eggs by the averages of small medium and large etc. You'll probably even get tight wads rifling through the eggs trying to save 7p on half a dozen and smashing eggs in other boxes in the process. Very Large: >73g
Large: 63-73g
Medium: 53-63g
Small: <53g
If implemented for eggs, this presumably means your eggs will be priced by the gram, so you'll be paying a more accurate price for your 6 or 12 eggs rather than a less accurate price. Like, OMG, storm the barricades. FFS.
Unless someone has some more concrete information than this speculation, it reads like the usual anti-EU straight banana publicity nonsense.
I happily chuck a few more pence at the cost of eggs for free range but not for some daft weighing system we don't need, everyone but the hard of thinking know a chicken doesn't lay eggs to a specific size every time - so are prepared for some egg irregularity between the dozens and half dozens of a specific size and amazingly we do not get our knickers in a twist over a few grams we may or may not have paid for.
Although I suspect someone will argue that right now there is some German in a lab coat standing in some factory with "zee official chicken bum measuring stick so zat I may check zose hens are popping zem eggs out to zee exacting standards"
Edited by RV8 on Monday 28th June 14:23
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff