Photo: Expired Eggs Being Sold in Haytagh

If the State Service for Food Safety (SSFS) inspectors periodically surprise visits to rural shopkeepers, it may be possible to prevent the sale of expired food products. This was reported by Hraparak.am.

In one of the stores in Haytagh village in the Armavir region, for example, expired eggs were sold; a consumer discovered this after purchasing them and taking them home. Lusine Vardanyan recounted that she bought four eggs from the village shop, took them home, and when she cracked them open to prepare an omelet for her children, she noticed they were spoiled.

“I broke all four, and all of them were black inside, the yolk and white mixed together and turned black. I usually pay attention to the expiration dates. I know that the eggs are considered fresh for up to 28 days from the specified date. I thought I was still within the expiration period, but I was mistaken,” she stated.

Lusine mentions that this is not the first time she has purchased expired eggs from the village shop, but it is the first time she is speaking out about it to ensure it does not happen again.

“I usually shop at supermarkets, but it’s not always possible to reach the city to buy even four eggs. Sometimes I’m forced to do my small shopping at the village store. But it turns out I’m taking a risk,” she added.

It should be noted that the label on the eggs sold should contain information about the size of the egg, production date, and the name of the producing company. However, the eggs from the company “Shirak 01” sold in Haytagh shops only have the producer’s name and the year of production displayed. There is no information about the expiration date or the size of the egg.

Lusine complained that the shop does not even follow storage rules.

“Instead of keeping the eggs in the refrigerators, they are placed on the shelves. When you ask why they are not in the refrigerator, they say, ‘We just received them and haven’t had the chance to store them yet.’ I don’t know who to blame—the unscrupulous producer who delivered poor-quality eggs to the shop or the shopkeeper who does not store perishable food items under special conditions, thinking it won’t overload the refrigerator,” she lamented.

It is noteworthy that not keeping eggs in refrigeration is a common practice in many small shops not only in rural areas but also in urban areas. They are usually displayed on a prominent table or next to the scales, on top of the refrigerator.