Romanian Food Expert Mencinicopschi Refutes Egg Producers’ Accusations

„I only said that consumers have powerful rights in the European Union. I said that every consumer has the right to be correctly informed and that there are four types of eggs, a provision made law in 2005, of which only 1% of Romanians are aware,” Mencinicopschi said.

He admitted that the press conference on February 9 also touched on the manner in which birds are bred and what they are fed, but that those statements were made not by him, but by „Vier Pfoten” officials.

„I will sue them for putting words in my mouth and restricting my right to know what I am consuming. Why have the four types of eggs not been the whole time since 2005? It is my right to know! I will prove they have slandered me and prevented the consumer’s right to information, a fundamental right secured by European legislation,” Mencinicopschi said.

Romanian Poultry Breeders’ Union (UCPR) president Ilie Van told a press conference Wednesday that 14 egg producers have already sued animal protection organization Vier Pfoten, as well as professor Gheorghe Mencinicopschi, member of the former Institute of Food Research. The companies accuse the two parties of „working to destroy the local egg production, probably in order to allow imports from countries that breed poultry in the same types of cages as local producers”.

The egg producers claim Mencinicopschi told a press conference on February 9 „a seeries of grave falsehoods” regarding the system applied to poultry breeding for the production of eggs meant for human consumption.

The lawyer hired by the egg producers, Daniel Dascalu, said the statements issued by Mencinicopschi seriously damaged the image of producers, and caused reductions in sales. At the moment, the amount of reparations demanded reaches some 1.5 million lei (EUR1=RON4.1196), but, according to the lawyer, the amount of reparations requested can change depending on how the situation evolves.

Van said Mencinicopschi lied when he said 75% of the 6.3 billion eggs produced annually in Romania are produced in non-improved cages, adding the real figure is just 17%.

Also, according to the producers, the farming of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and use of GMOs in poultry feed would go against European legislation, and „in Romania, farmers observe EU legislation to the letter”.

Mencinicopschi and the Vier Pfoten organization held a conference on February 9, where they said that two thirds of eggs produced in Romania come from chickens raised in batteries with surfaces smaller than that of a sheet of A4 paper and often fed with genetically modified feed and synthetic vitamins.

Vier Pfoten then announced the initiation of a campaign aiming to raise awareness to the fact that two thirds of eggs produced in Romania come from chickens raised improperly, which are fed with synthetic vitamins and medicine, and most of the time the feed contains genetically modified organisms.

„This form of feeding reflects on the quality of the eggs. Producers need to stop using the eggs from these chickens, and supermarkets need to offer buyers choices, namely they need to sell eggs from chickens raised in open space as well,” said Gabriel Paun, representing Vier Pfoten.

He asked producers to stamp eggs and called attention on the fact that product stamps starting with the number two or three need to be avoided. The Vier Pfoten representative added the best eggs to eat are those whose stamps start with zero or one, but these eggs are very hard to find.

According to the association, countries such as Austria and Switzerland banned the raising of chickens in batteries, and starting with January 1, 2012, all EU producers will be forced to give up this system of raising chickens.