Beware Fake Eggs From China!
Status: hoax
Greg writes:Found this online - warning about fake chicken eggs, but it seems that eggs are too inexpensive to generate a profit by faking.
Absolutely right. This email hoax about Chinese food counterfeiters mass producing fake eggs has been circulating for a number of years. There are posts debunking it on Boing Boing (2006), Consumerist (2007), and Hoax-Slayer (2007).
What I find to be the most illogical part of the fake egg story is the claim that the counterfeiters are going through an elaborate process to make the inside of the egg look real (i.e. the egg yolk and white). But really, why bother? The shell is all that the consumer would see when buying the egg, so isn't that the only part a counterfeiter would care about?
Categories: Food Posted by Alex on Wed Nov 25, 2009 |
Comments (14) |
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The sad reality is that what is being counterfitted are the chiken that lay those eggs :cheese:
Posted by mario on Wed Nov 25, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Actually, what you need to beware of is fake Eggos from China now that there is a shortage of them.
Posted by Christopher Cole on Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 08:45 AM
Well, making the inside of the eggs look fake would likely cut back on your chances of getting repeat customers. Plus, eggs often break in shipping.
Posted by Accipiter on Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 08:54 AM
Wouldn't it be smarter to counterfeit something like rubies or platinum, instead of something that sells for around ten cents each?
Posted by Big Gary on Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 04:44 PM
Hi,
Yes I agree that reason can be shortage but counterfeiters should not take this wrong way.It will really create a negative effect on china public.
Posted by taufgeschenk on Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Yes I agree that reason can be shortage but counterfeiters should not take this wrong way.It will really create a negative effect on china public.
Everyone is missing the big picture. China is:
1. Perfecting their biological counterfeiting technology.
2. Gauging the gullibility of the Western media and public.
3. Establishing a profile as "incompetent", thus avoiding future close scrutiny.
In order to fulfill their grand master plan, of counterfeiting major world leaders and assuming planetary control.
Posted by Canadarm on Fri Nov 27, 2009 at 11:09 PM
1. Perfecting their biological counterfeiting technology.
2. Gauging the gullibility of the Western media and public.
3. Establishing a profile as "incompetent", thus avoiding future close scrutiny.
In order to fulfill their grand master plan, of counterfeiting major world leaders and assuming planetary control.
This ridiculous story is included in "Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee - The Dark History of the Food Cheats" by Bee Wilson as factual (Available at Amazon). There are other dubious stories uncritically included in this book but this is the worst.
That lazy authors simply copy bits off the internet rather than do proper research is bad enough; that publishers' editors let this stuff by is unforgivable.
Posted by Buzz on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11:25 AM
That lazy authors simply copy bits off the internet rather than do proper research is bad enough; that publishers' editors let this stuff by is unforgivable.
yeah, well guess what. this isn't a hoax. I guess noone here can read chinese, cuz if you could and searched under "man made eggs" you'd find not hundreds of stories etc. Now i myself have never found a fake egg. But here in china people just accept the fact that some of their eggs might be fake, so they check them. and the profit margin actually makes sense if done on a large scale:
10fen=1mao
10mao=1yuan
6.9yuan=1USD
real eggs cost 6-7 mao a piece (5yuan for a dozen)
fake eggs cost around 4 fen to make, according to chinese news reports
real eggs cost about 2 mao.
so for a cracker peasant in the hinterhills of china, that 2mao profit is big stuff 😉
Posted by sascha on Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 09:06 AM
10fen=1mao
10mao=1yuan
6.9yuan=1USD
real eggs cost 6-7 mao a piece (5yuan for a dozen)
fake eggs cost around 4 fen to make, according to chinese news reports
real eggs cost about 2 mao.
so for a cracker peasant in the hinterhills of china, that 2mao profit is big stuff 😉
Don't beleive him - all my eggs come out of real chickens' bottoms.
Posted by Cracker Peasant on Thu Dec 17, 2009 at 08:50 AM
Lies. His chickens hatched out of my fake eggs. I have proof:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/ICuYXDoZYU0/
Posted by that cracker's neighbor on Thu Dec 17, 2009 at 09:29 AM
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/ICuYXDoZYU0/
Actually I think this is real, because it had been widely reported in the Chinese news media, including some reputable sources. The fake eggs are harmful to one's health, but I don't know how to distinguish them anyways, so one can only hope for the best.
Posted by Tasha on Mon Mar 01, 2010 at 02:35 AM
I went through the information and its been amazing and i am looking for it.
Posted by Bare Necessities coupon on Mon May 24, 2010 at 12:19 AM
i agree with u Canadarm
Posted by kadın on Thu Sep 09, 2010 at 04:00 PM
I love how people NOT living in China say, "oh, this is a silly hoax". While for those of us living in China, it's common knowledge. It's simply a way for peasants to earn their living in China.
Just because some website says "oh, we have debunked this" does not make that true. All the websites I have seen debunking the fake eggs say that "the
The eggs are easy and cheap to make, a Japanese reporter easily made them on on TV. If a peasant has the choice to work longs hours, for low wages, and in dangerous conditions, OR to make fake eggs, work LESS hours and make MORE money, why wouldn't he make fake eggs?
Something that many people that haven't lived in China don't realize, is that labor in China is cheap! If a person works all day, and makes just a couple dollars, that is considered good (some don't make 1 dollar). Also, there are 1.5 billion people in China, so there are many potential customers and people WILL buy your product.
There is no question that these CAN be made, the question is (for hoax websites), will people do this and will people buy it. Well, if it can make any amount of money, then some Chinese WILL do it. And if it looks kinda real, then people WILL buy it. Really, I think that should answer your question right there. People try to make fake versions of everything in China (oil from feces, for instance).
Posted by ApparentlyICan'tUseMyNameStupidWebsite on Sat Feb 25, 2012 at 06:17 AM
Just because some website says "oh, we have debunked this" does not make that true. All the websites I have seen debunking the fake eggs say that "the
The eggs are easy and cheap to make, a Japanese reporter easily made them on on TV. If a peasant has the choice to work longs hours, for low wages, and in dangerous conditions, OR to make fake eggs, work LESS hours and make MORE money, why wouldn't he make fake eggs?
Something that many people that haven't lived in China don't realize, is that labor in China is cheap! If a person works all day, and makes just a couple dollars, that is considered good (some don't make 1 dollar). Also, there are 1.5 billion people in China, so there are many potential customers and people WILL buy your product.
There is no question that these CAN be made, the question is (for hoax websites), will people do this and will people buy it. Well, if it can make any amount of money, then some Chinese WILL do it. And if it looks kinda real, then people WILL buy it. Really, I think that should answer your question right there. People try to make fake versions of everything in China (oil from feces, for instance).
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