Eggoz Nutrition, a renowned high-quality egg brand, finds itself in a soup following allegations that were raised by a YouTuber on the issue of the cancer-causing eggs that had gone viral this week. Its brand was also quick to clarify to social media that its eggs are quite safe to eat.
The entire commotion was triggered by a report that got published by a YouTube channel called Trustified that claimed that samples of eggs produced by Eggoz had been found to be positive of AOZ, a metabolite of the prohibited antibiotic Nitrofuran.
According to Trustified, it found 0.73 parts per billion, and that was sufficient to challenge the claim that the brand is 100 percent antibiotic-free.
What are nitrofurans?
Nitrofurans are synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotics that used to be a common poultry, pigs, shrimp and other livestock treatment.
They have been prohibited to use since they are fast to metabolise to AOZ, AMOZ, AHD, and SEM, which may be evidenced to take weeks. The use of the chemical in poultry farming is also prohibited due to the possible cancer associations.
Can eggs cause cancer?
Another report that stated that some eggs might lead to cancer has raised concern, and a representative of orthopaedic surgeon and sporting medicine, Mumbai based doctor, Dr Manan Vora has responded to it.
In a December 9 video on Instagram, Dr Vora responded to a video by a YouTube channel, Trustified, which claimed to have detected illegal and genotoxic ingredients in the eggs that the brand Eggoz Nutrition manufactures.
After the release of the December 7 video by Trustified, the brand, Eggoz Nutrition released a statement on December 9 on Instagram to assure its customers that their eggs are safe to consume. Of that, however, first here is all that Dr Vora said as he emphasized how dire these findings were.
Outlawed genotoxic substances in eggs
The Trustified report that Dr Vora points to reported that a shipment of Eggoz eggs has been tested and that it contained nitrofuran and nitroimidazole, which are banned drugs. These chemicals are normally used unacceptably in poultry rearing to suppress infection in hens so that they remain stable to produce more eggs he explained.
Dr Vora explained that these substances were considered genotoxic, which is the ability to affect the DNA and probably even cancer.
He said, “Eggs will cause cancer, you will find this everywhere in your timeline today. I am going to tell you what the truth is. It is a brand known as Ego Nutrition GI. I consume these eggs also; so I am not only shocked. This is appalling because it harbors some prohibited substances that were detected by an independent YouTube channel known as Trustified. When these eggs were tested, two of the prohibited substances that are nitrofuran and nitroimidazole showed up in the report. Why then are they prohibited since they are known to be genotoxic? It is because they can change your DNA and can even make you cancerous.
Speaking of his surprise and dismay, since he is the one who has eaten the eggs of the brand, Dr Vora wondered why an exposed company that illegally uses substances still exists in the Indian market and does business.
He particularly raised a finger on the national regulatory body, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Although he mentioned that other nations apply the absolute zero tolerance policy towards such chemicals, the FSSAI supposedly tolerates a certain degree of the same.
He replied that now you will say, since this is prohibited, why did the brand (Eggoz Nutrition) use such drugs? Since they are applied to the hens to literally scare them off of bacteria, off of infection and make them increasingly more stable in order that they might bring forth more and more eggs. This is unlawful in the poultry business. And this brand that boasts not to do any of this has now been tested with nitrofuran metabolite A oz, which has been shown in the report to be approximately 0.7. It ought to have been even lower than 0.4. The other nations have zero tolerance of such substances and they should not be tolerated at all.
It is not necessarily that eggs are the problem
Dr Vora made it clear that this alarming finding was only limited to one test on one batch of a single brand (Eggoz Nutrition). According to him, the report must not cause the conclusion that ‘eggs cause cancer on the whole’. Dr Vora then made a conclusion by requiring the brand and the FSSAI to explain clearly on the presence of the prohibited genotoxic substances and regulatory tolerance levels of the regulatory body. He also commended the independent testing bodies as they keep big food brands to task.
He said, What now are my thoughts last? As an individual, I am extremely disappointed. I have long been consuming Egos. This has been a shock to me. Second, we should realize that it was one test that was carried out on one batch of a particular brand. Thus, the brand and the FSSAI should provide certain clarifications. This does not imply that we are saying that eggs cause general cancer.”
He concluded, “And third, I have a good feeling that it is taking place. It is highly desirable that autonomous institutions are putting brands to test and making sure that what they purport is really so. The issue is why should independent bodies do this? What is FSSAI doing?”
