More eggsellent news from Brussels?
Carrots were early victims: In 1979 an EU directive ruled that they should be termed as fruits, as the Portuguese make jam out of them…
Cucumbers came in for scrutiny in 1988 when it was declared that ‘top of the range’ ones should bend by only 10mm per 10cm – because that would help packaging and transport…
In 1994 it was bananas (oh, go for it, you know you want to 
): top of the range ones had to be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature of the fingers”; and in 2003 smokey bacon crisps averted being banned by a whisker.
While Dave is off at the G8, and those of the government still in Britain are trying their most desperate to persuade us that their “progressive” (the only adjective anyone can find that’s not out-and-out negative, methinks) budget is good for us, Brussels is having its evil way yet again.
Now it’s the turn of eggs (and other food like fruit and bread rolls if the papers over the weekend are to be believed).
No longer are we to be allowed to by our eggs by the dozen or half dozen, labelled medium, large, extra large, and whether free range, organic, and so on.
4 rolls that we can SEE the size and price of won’t do. No; that’s not good enough for Brussels. We must buy by weight. And of course that weight must be in kilos.
Give me strength 
.
Where will this madness end? Until now Britain has been exempt from EU regulations that forbid (yes, that’s right, forbid) the sale of these foods by number but last week MEPs voted to end our deal.
And what can we actually DO about it?
About Linda MattacksDoing what you love, your bit for humankind and the planet (if that turns you on) and making a decent, let alone great living don't necessarily come in the same package! With a background of sales training, marketing and market/marketing research spanning decades, for individuals and companies across the world from micros to corporations, Linda's finally found her niche... and some truly fabulous collaborators. Female employer, employee or entrepreneur, if you're not seeing the fruits of your potential value in the marketplace why not talk to Linda? Call +44(0)7879 628 367
View all posts by Linda Mattacks →
8 Responses to More eggsellent news from Brussels?
All that jazz – All in A Day
Review of: Cousin Alice Jazz Music by Cousin Alice: Elaine Sturgess Reviewed by: Elaine Sturgess Rating: 5 On January 21, 2012 Last modified: January 30, 2012 Summary: What makes Alice so distinctive is her wonderfully smokey voice, a quality that furniture designer William Yeoward found so arresting at a concert she was performing for the [...]
Are the papers actually telling the truth, though? So often, they have reported that the EU has banned something or made it compulsory, but later on it transpires that it was the UK government behind it and just pretending to blame it on the EU.
It was suggested on my FB this morning that it's actually not to prevent retailers from selling in dozens or whatever – just that they have to put the weight on so that consumers can make fair comparisons.
I'm not sure – on the whole you can look and make a judgement I suppose. But eggs are difficult to judge by a glance, and I don't suppose I always think if my four apples would be cheaper if I bought them by the pound. Sorry, kilo
I'm on the fence until I see what difference it actually makes
I'm also not going to get in a froth about this, Ann. I shall leave that to the Daily Mail, who specialise in outrage.
I quite like the idea that I can buy a mixed box of 18 eggs of different sizes – I wonder how that will work with the weighing system – maybe it will be on overall weight content?
I'm just fed up with being treated as though I don't have a brain or a mind of my own and having my intelligence insulted by people whose salaries are funded by tax payers – and that includes UK and MEPs.
Amusement to rant to calm – all in a couple of minutes
…
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Pingback: Tweets that mention The most eggsellent news? -- Topsy.com
Give me strength, I may be older than some but I just cannot do baking in metric – when a recipe rounds the amounts into even 25 or 50grams its not the same proportions as ounces – and now they want us weigh bread, with good food its what it tastes like and its provenance that's important not if you cannot count on your own how many rolls in a see through packet – and btw how much do these MEP's get paid?
Tut, tut! You're applying commonsense and that will never do!
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Baking, yes. All my recipes use '2 medium eggs' or whatever. Weight would be useless, as would a mixed box. I cam picture myself spending hours comparing eggs to find a medium one. lol
I am assuming that they will end up putting the weight on the pack as well as the traditional descriptions, not instead. Brits tend to get round such nonsense by doing that anyway.