Shopper finds eggs crawling with maggots at supermarket
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I remember some of you guys posting about finding maggots on/in some of your eggs.
The New Paper, 21 March 2007, Pg. 6
By Andrew Chin and Peter Rajendran
He was selecting his carton of eggs from a supermarket shelf when he came across "what looked like grains of rice" on the eggs.
He took a closer look, and to his horror, discovered that those "grains" were actually moving.
They turned out to be live maggots.
"You could smell the stench over a metre away from the racks," said the customer, Mr Tan (not his real name), who was doing his monthly shopping trip at the Bukit Merah NTUC FairPrice supermarket.
"Other customers could smell it too, and they were shocked at the sight."
Disgusted, Mr Tan took a photo of a magoot-ingested egg carton and e-mailed it to The New Paper on 18 Mar.
The next day, The New Paper decided to check his claim. And it turned out to be true.
There was a foul smell coming from the shelves at the supermarket.
Then, we found a similar carton of rotten eggs. It was deep within the fourth layer of the stacks. It, too, had maggots crawling over it.
The stench from this carton was overwhelming.
And much to our surprise, we managed to buy the carton, without anyone stopping us at any counter.
The cashier did not know what she had just sold.
When contacted, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) said that a team had been sent to investigate the case an hour before The New Paper arrived in the morning.
During the team's inspection, no rotten or damaged eggs were found.
Nevertheless, the members advised the NTUC supervisor to conduct a complete check on all eggs to be safe.
A 23 year-old supervisor, who gave her name as Ms Malinee, said they subsequently inspected and removed any cartons of rotten eggs.
"I myself removed two cartons," she said.
They may have missed the carton spotted by The New Paper, but how did the maggots get there in the first place?
Ms Malinee explained that when customers browsed through the cartons, some would accidentally break and egg or two.
They would then leave it on the shelf without notifying staff members.
There cartons with broken eggs would be left hidden among the stacks.
Over time, the broken eggs would rot, and the maggots would start to appear.
A spokesman for NTUC FairPrice gave the same answer.
So what have staff members been doing to prevent such occurrences?
Said the spokesman: "Twice a day, our store employees conduct random checks on eggs displayed on shelves for cracks and breakage."
"NEA also conducts regular random checks on stores as part of a standard operating procedure."
After our visit, FairPrice employees conducted a "100 per cent check" and found two more trays of eggs with maggots, said the NEA spokesman.
FairPrice subsequently removed the whole batch of eggs and returned them to the supplier.
They have since taken action to prevent further occurrences.
"We have taken immediate steps to ensure that all branches exercise greater vigilance in their checks on eggs."
"We have also alerted our supplier - a well established company - to step up checks at the source," the spokesman said.
"We apologise for the unpleasant experience and remain committed to upholding food safety standards."
NEA needs proof
According to the NEA, the agency is empowered to take enforcement action against negligent retailers.
But they would require proof. They would also need a written statement from the consumer who has bought the spoilt food, and the receipt of purchase.
An NEA spokesman said: "Offenders may be fined up to $2,000 on conviction in court."
NEA added that while retailers have a responsibility to ensure the quality of food sold, consumers play a part too.
"Consumers are advised to check that food items are wholesome before purchase."
"If they come across unwholesome food, they should inform the retailer quickly."
The authorities have taken action and implemented procedures to ensure that food safety standards are met.
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ugh.
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buy egg got free pet.
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maggots are disgusting. Reminds me of rotten corpses. -
if really got maggots, then sure smelly wad..
still can go upclose n see -
they also sells water melons that are not ripe although they are priced cheaper
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I'm afraid NTUC will be blacklisted sooner or later... -
never will it happen. look at their backingOriginally posted by pokkagreentea:I'm afraid NTUC will be blacklisted sooner or later... -
You think so???Originally posted by pokkagreentea:I'm afraid NTUC will be blacklisted sooner or later...
I think they'll do double standard -
yuck...must call my mum check le.
if theres such a stink smell, why dun they check it out??? -
They can't be bothered oneOriginally posted by Y_Shun:yuck...must call my mum check le.
if theres such a stink smell, why dun they check it out???
In the first place, you see then stack things you know alrdy -
what baffles me is. if there's a smell. why people still buy? another thing is. cashiers. flip here flip there for barcode. sure can see those maggots what.
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Plus how come the NEA officers couldn't find anything...Originally posted by Keii:what baffles me is. if there's a smell. why people still buy? another thing is. cashiers. flip here flip there for barcode. sure can see those maggots what.
Something fishy is going on -
they jus wan to sell the stuff..Originally posted by Keii:what baffles me is. if there's a smell. why people still buy? another thing is. cashiers. flip here flip there for barcode. sure can see those maggots what. they doesnt care abt the condition.. -
The foul smell also like they can tahan like thatOriginally posted by mr_sotong:they jus wan to sell the stuff.. they doesnt care abt the condition.. -
some idiot must be playing a prank. NEA arh... cannot trust them sometimes.Originally posted by sbst275:Plus how come the NEA officers couldn't find anything...
Something fishy is going on
but still. they don't care. people die or land in hospital then they take action meh?Originally posted by mr_sotong:they jus wan to sell the stuff.. they doesnt care abt the condition..
then these customers also very funny. got problem straightaway notify la. bring home inspect for what. -
I forgot
NTUC Fairprice is like controlled by the govt... So defintely even if there's any prob, they might still have to report something -
yeah. pfft. idiots, all of them. idiots i tell you! *curses*Originally posted by sbst275:I forgot
NTUC Fairprice is like controlled by the govt... So defintely even if there's any prob, the NEA officers might just have to say there's nothing wrong.. -
That's why in the 1st place, I suspect there's double standardOriginally posted by Keii:yeah. pfft. idiots, all of them. idiots i tell you! *curses* -
I get my eggs from the Market
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sighs. what can we do? consumers always suffer. gst increase. now all these crap. no one gives a damn.Originally posted by sbst275:That's why in the 1st place, I suspect there's double standard -
money make the world spin..Originally posted by sbst275:That's why in the 1st place, I suspect there's double standard -
Even the GST increase, they tell you NTUC will absorbOriginally posted by Keii:sighs. what can we do? consumers always suffer. gst increase. now all these crap. no one gives a damn.
Actually in reality, they go ask the supplier to absorb it for them -
idiots.Originally posted by sbst275:Even the GST increase, they tell you NTUC will absorb
Actually in reality, they go ask the supplier to absorb it for them
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Originally posted by Keii:
knn... all push to customers
Ms Malinee explained that when customers browsed through the cartons, some would accidentally break and egg or two.
[b]NEA needs proof
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