Egg Test: The safety of everyday food items has become a serious talking point in recent months. Eggs, in particular, came under sharp focus after a blind lab test detected a banned antibiotic drug in a popular branded egg. The finding triggered nationwide concern and raised a simple but worrying question – if this can happen with branded ones like Eggoz, what about the unbranded eggs many people buy daily from local stores?
To address this concern, Trustified, India’s first and only 100% blind testing certification programme, decided to go a step further. After testing several branded eggs and finding no traces of banned antibiotics in them, the team turned its attention to unbranded eggs.
How The Egg Test Was Conducted
For this Egg Test, team members across different cities were asked to collect two samples of unbranded eggs. One sample came from a general store, while the other was sourced from a local poultry shop. Wherever possible, the buying process was recorded on camera. Each egg batch was then given a unique code before being sent to the lab for blind testing.
Unlike branded products, unbranded eggs come with several challenges. Recording purchases is not always possible, and even couriering eggs turned out to be a task. Some courier companies refused to ship eggs altogether. In one case, eggs had to be packed into multiple foam-filled boxes. In another, two full samples were destroyed before reaching the lab.
After all hurdles, five unbranded egg samples from three cities finally reached the laboratory. For safety reasons and due to past threats and legal issues, the cities were not disclosed publicly.
What The Lab Testing Found
The lab reports were analysed in two stages. First, the nutritional values were checked. Across all five unbranded samples, protein, fats, and carbohydrates were found to be largely similar. There were no unusual variations in basic nutrition.
Next came the critical part of the Egg Test: checking for banned antibiotic drug metabolites. Each coded sample was tested individually. According to the reports, none of the unbranded egg samples showed the presence of banned antibiotic metabolites. All values were below the limit of quantification.
When combined with earlier results, the larger picture became clearer. Out of 10 eggs tested so far (five branded and five unbranded), nine samples were clean. Only one egg tested positive for a banned antibiotic, and even that result was confirmed through retesting.
The purpose of this testing was not to target any brand or seller. Instead, the aim is to push for stronger food safety rules in India. Many countries follow a strict zero-tolerance policy for such drugs. These tests show that modern labs can detect even trace amounts.
The message is to ask questions, demand safer food standards and most importantly, stay informed.
