Buying a dozen eggs in the UK could be a thing of the past, as a new European Union labeling law kicks in. The new rule, crafted by what I could only describe as lunatic bureaucrats in Brussels, decrees that you can't sell food by the numbers:
For the first time, eggs and other products such as oranges and bread rolls will be sold by weight instead of by the number contained in a packet.
Until now, Britain has been exempt from EU regulations that forbid the selling of goods by number. But last week MEPs voted to end Britain’s deal despite objections from UK members.
The new rules will mean that instead of packaging telling shoppers a box contains six eggs, it will show the weight in grams of the eggs inside, for example 372g.Or that a bag of white rolls has 322g inside instead of half a dozen. The rules will not allow both the weight and the quantity to be displayed. [...]
Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer trade magazine, said: ‘You couldn’t make it up, could you? It would be funny if it were an April Fool’s joke. But it’s not and it will potentially cost the industry millions, while confusing customers no end.
Christopher leake of The Daily Mail has got the story: Link
"The European Parliament statement continued:
No ban on eggs by the dozen
Selling eggs by the dozen will not be illegal under the terms of the amendments adopted by the European Parliament to EU food labelling proposals. Labels will still be able to indicate the number of food items in a pack, whether of eggs, bread rolls or fish fingers.
Labelling by weight
Reports that claim the new rules will not allow both the weight and the quantity to be displayed are also wrong. The new food labelling regulation does not affect existing EU rules on the size of eggs: There are four official sizes of eggs: very large (73g and over), large (63g to 73g), medium (53g to 63g), and small (under 53g) - this will not change."
The daily mail rarely prints truths or facts.
Source: http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2010/06/shock-as-eu-says-you-can-still-buy-12.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/10432128.stm