Angry Coles customers want supermarket chain to follow Woolworth’s lead

SUPERMARKET giant Coles is coming under increasing pressure from its customers over the way it stores eggs, with calls for it to copy Woolworths.

Egg shortage in shopping centres pic at Ascot Coles

SUPERMARKET giant Coles is coming under increasing pressure from its customers over the way it stores eggs.

Rival Woolworths said it would store eggs on refrigerated shelves because it helps stop salmonella being spread.

And while Coles told news.com.au it was not commenting on the isuues, Food Standards Australia New Zealand said there was “no food safety reason to require whole eggs to be refrigerated”.

It said, however, that some retailers “may choose to refrigerate eggs for their own reasons (for example, to maintain quality of the egg such as firmness of the yolk or reduce spoilage)”.

Despite this some customers are threatening to boycott the Coles stores until there is action. Many angry customers took to Facebook and Twitter to vent their frustration.

Why would @coles Traralgon move its location of eggs from refrigerated cabinet to open shelves? Cos it can?? #salmonella

— Paul Burns (@rubicon137) January 9, 2016

@coles Just another reason to boycott #coles as it won’t sell eggs from refrigerated cabinets. #Aldi also guilty. #woolworths here I come.

— Apples (@appleshk) January 9, 2016

@Coles Please store your eggs in refrigerated cabinets as @woolworths already do in many stores.

— Elizabeth Taylor (@eatay3) January 8, 2016

According to Fairfax, Coles replied to some of the customers via social media.

It told customers via tweets that it understood their concern, but said Food Standards Australia and New Zealand said there was no need to refrigerate hen’s eggs to prevent bacterial growth, as long as they remain intact.

In another tweet, Coles tried to reassure another customer that refrigerating eggs didn’t significantly reduce the chance of salmonella.

In a previous statement to Fairfax on the issue, Coles would only say it “adheres to all health and safety regulations regarding egg storage”.

Food Safety Australia New Zealand said in a statement that it undertook a thorough risk assessment of egg production and processing in Australia in 2011.

“This involved consultation with industry, scientists, government agencies and the public,” it said. “The work was also undertaken with the assistance of international and domestic experts. We looked at the entire supply chain, including factors on-farm that increase the likelihood of Salmonella contamination, through grading, washing, packing, retail storage and consumer preparation.

“An egg’s shell, membrane and the egg white all form a barrier designed to stop food poisoning bacteria from contaminating the inside of an egg.”

It also said that whole, un-cracked eggs were not required to be refrigerated at retail because, “unlike many other countries (such as the US and UK), the types of Salmonella that can contaminate the inside of eggs as they are formed in the bird are not present in Australian laying flocks”.

Originally published as Angry Coles customers want supermarket chain to follow Woolworth’s lead