EGO GRADING

Evening Star, Issue 23681, 14 September 1940, Page 10

EGO GRADING

MERCHANTS MAKE A START REGULATIONS ENFORCED FROM MONDAY WHOLESALE PRICES 1/- TO 1/7- A DOZEN From Monday all eggs will be sold in Dunedin under the conditions of the egg marketing regulations recently passed by the Government. Although these regulations were originally intended to operate from August 1, various factors have prevented their ■ imposition before this. The difficulties have been overcome, and the four accredited wholesale distributors in the city—Messrs Scott Bros., Fraser and Co., Lindsay and Co., and Reilly’s Central Product Martwill be the only wholesale sellers of eggs from Monday. Under the new regulations eggs have to be graded into four classes: Heavy, weighing not less than 2ioz; standard, up to 2Joz and not less than 1 15-16 oz; medium, up to 1 15-16 oz and not less than 1 9-16 o z; pullets, IJoz to 1 9-16 oz, Retailers may 'sell the eggs only under these headings, the terms “ fresh,” “dairy eggs,” or other descriptions used in!the,.past being discontinued. Eggs, sold must tally exactly with the,.description, concerning which, there will be no difficulty so long as the eggs are .purchased from- the accredited wholesale agents, but. should any be purchased from any outside source the onus will be on the retailer to see that they are sold up to standard. Abuse of the regulations will mean a fine, and the possibility of being deprived of the right to sell eggs. The grade will be indicated by labels, heavy being sold under a blue’ label, standard under red, medium ■ under black, and pullet under green. . Wholesale prices in the meantime have been fixed by the merchants at: Heavy, Is 7d; standard, Is sd; medium, Is 4d; pullet. Is. Grading has been started by the merchants, and stacks of crates are ready for distribution on Monday. Much consideration has been given the. question of the best method of ensuring accurate grading, and, in view of the difficulty of obtaining machines under the import control regulations, it has been decided to operate by hand. An idea has been perfected by one of the merchants, which, it is claimed, will prove perhaps even more satisfactory than any machine, particularly as the machine* have been proved not infallible. Trained girls grade the eggs by trying them out in three holes which have been calculated to thousandths of an inch to ensure absolute reliability. If the eggs will not fit any one of the three holes they are graded as pullets, unless they are eggs of an uncommon shape, such as unusually round or unusually long, in which case they are carefully weighed in order to guarantee proper classification. After grading the eggs are rolled through a partition, along a cushioned slide, to where girl* are waiting to pack them. When crates are Sled they are weighed, and if the gross weight is not below a fixed minimum —usually the gross weight is a few pounds in excess of that minimum—the grading has been satisfactory. Now the regulations imposed say nothing in regard to the quality of eggs, but the four merchants have the interests of their customers to consider, and in the process of grading all eggs are tested. The result is that the consumers will be guaranteed not only eggs of a uniform weight, but will be certain of getting eggs of the best quality. When the girls place tha eggs in the grading holes a powerful light X-rays the egg, so that cracks and blood spots show up distinctly, while the density of the internal colouring of the eggs indicates whether they are fresh or otherwise. Stale eggs or eggs containing blood spots are discarded, and are not used again for any purpose. Cracked or dirty eggs are used for egg pulp One firm yesterday passed 2,418 dozen eggs, of which 70 per cent, were graded standard, 20 per cent, heavy, and 10 per cent, medium. In that extensive grading only 23 eggs containing blood spots were found. Since grading was started by this firm 6,000 dozen eggs have been handled, and the percentage has been approximately that revealed yesterday. In that 6,000 dozen only 11 dozen were pullet size. The new regulations mean considerably more clerical work, for the task of keeping a check on each supplier’s egg« and the allocation of the income from the various grades is no light one.