A big scramble to hold egg-citing event

DEFYING rain and a tainted egg scandal that has shaken European consumers, a Belgian town last week has turned nearly 10,000 eggs into a giant omelette for the whole community.

Cooks and volunteers ( below, right) whipped up the massive concoction in the town square using enormous wooden utensils, a giant skillet, bacon and green onions. They then distributed it to a hungry public.

It’s an annual event held every Aug 15 in the town of Malmedy that took on greater meaning this year, as several European countries have reported receiving eggs or egg products contaminated by a pesticide.

Several Dutch and Belgian poultry producers are under investigation, though no one has fallen ill from the eggs and health risk is considered low.

Omelette event co-founder Benedicte Mathy says organisers verified the sourcing for all the eggs used and deemed them danger-free.

“I did not have any problem finding enough eggs, but [it] has indeed been a bit different,” adds Mathy, president of the local branch of the World Giant Omelette Brotherhood.

Belgium and the Netherlands are at the centre of the crisis that has so far seen tainted eggs found in 15 EU countries, Switzerland and Hong Kong, with millions of eggs removed from supermarket shelves.

Mathy, who has organised the annual Giant Omelette festival in Malmedy for more than 20 years, insists every precaution has been taken in collecting the eggs used.

“We have largely organised our own supplies, about 8,000 eggs which came from a farm some 40 kilometres from here, so we know the quality,” she says prior to the event.

The rest came from two supermarket chains sponsoring the event who were aware no risks can be taken given the publicity the event generates, she adds.

Mathy says the Malmedy’s festival dates back to the 1990s when Belgium was hit with a similar scandal – over chicken and eggs contaminated with dioxin, a known carcinogen.

“People have confidence in us. One cannot organise a festival like ours without taking precautions,” she adds. – Agencies