FAKE EGGS

I have received a very interesting email from my friend in GMA NEWS. I have thought of sharing it on my blog. It is about Chinese fake eggs.

According to the email, authorities seized a large quantity of fake eggs during a recent raid on a wholesale centre in Guangzhou city, the capital of China's Guangdong province. Their wholesale price is 0.15 Yuan (S$0.03) each - half the price of a real egg. Consumers have a hard time telling a genuine egg from a fake one. This is good news for unscrupulous entrepreneurs, who are even conducting three-day courses in the production of artificial eggs for less than S$150.A reporter with Hong Kong-based Chinese magazine East Week enrolled in one such course. To create egg white, the instructor - a woman in her 20s - used assorted ingredients such as gelatin, an unknown powder, benzoic acid, coagulating material and even alum, which is normally used for industrial processes.

For egg yolk, mix some lemon-yellow coloring powder to a liquid and stir the concoction.

Then pour the liquid into a round-shaped plastic mould and mix with so-called 'magic water', which contains calcium chloride. This gives the 'yolk' a thin outer membrane, firming it up. Use a mould to shape the egg. Don’t forget the shell.

Pour paraffin wax and an unidentified white liquid onto the fake egg then let it dry. The artificial egg can be fried sunny-side up or steamed. Although bubbles appear on the white of the egg, those who have tasted it say the fake stuff tastes very much like the real thing.

However, experts warn of the danger of eating fake eggs. Not only that they do not contain any nutrients, a Hong Kong Chinese University professor warned that long-term consumption of alum could cause dementia.

Is not the human brain amazing? It is a proof of human ingenuity. Who would think of faking eggs? However, not everything that looks good is right.