Artificial eggs: Kolkata civic body gives clean chit in preliminary test

An initial investigation by the Kolkata civic body on a batch of alleged "artificial eggs" did not find any abnormality, an official said on Tuesday.

Allaying fears of the public over the "artificial eggs" issue, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday had said a probe is on in the matter but exhorted the public to consume eggs produced in the state without any apprehension.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has reiterated the same.

"The shells had calcium carbonate. This means they were regular eggs and were harmless. We are awaiting the results of the tests that were ordered by the state government," said Mayor In Council (Health) Atin Ghosh.

The artificial eggs controversy came to light after a woman lodged a police complaint alleging she was sold "fake eggs" that had a strange "plastic-like quality" when they were spread out on a pan.

A shopkeeper was arrested in connection with the case.

A team from the civic body headed by Ghosh raided various city markets and seized similar samples of artificial eggs. According to Ghosh, the eggs sold by the arrested shopkeeper were procured from a wholesaler in the city's Muchipara area.

Banerjee said action will be taken if something is discovered.