UPDATE: Dangerous dye makes eggs unmarketable

The owner of a 50,000 egg-laying hen farm in the Tien Giang Province, said that the number of sold eggs had decreased by 30-40% since news broke about the Sudan colourant.

The information about the discovery of Sudan Red IV colourant in eggs in Vietnam has made farmers suffer. Eggs cannot be sold as housewives are keeping away.

Big egg traders are also complaining about bad business. Pham Thi Huan, Director of Ba Huan Company, said that sales had decreased by 40-50% since the news was released about the eggs with Sudan. Contracts signed by Ba Huan and partners on providing salted eggs have also been broken.

Hoang Thi Kim Ngan, the owner of a farm in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, said that state management authorities should declare the names of the establishments that provide eggs with toxic substances. She added that all the farms had to follow strict veterinary procedures, and thus could not add Sudan to food for poultry in order to create an egg with a brighter, deeper yellow yolk.

When asked about the quality of poultry eggs being sold in the HCM City market, Huynh Huu Loi, Head of the HCM City Veterinary Sub-department, said that the city had asked egg trading and processing establishments to sign contracts with farms in order to make clear the origin of eggs. However, Mr Loi has admitted that the control over the origin of eggs faces many difficulties.

Meanwhile, Bui Quang Anh, Head of the Veterinary Department, said that the veterinary department was still compiling the procedures for inspecting eggs, and the agencies would take samples for testing after the procedures were finalised.

Illegal colorant found in Vietnamese eggs

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