Ryan Nicol
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says her agency will waive certain packaging and labeling requirements to help accelerate the supply of eggs to Florida’s retailers.
Floridians and residents of other states have stocked up on eggs amid the novel coronavirus outbreak which has prompted some to worry of a possible egg shortage.
Some of those purchasers are “stress-baking” or otherwise using the eggs to cook. Others are buying up the product ahead of Easter.
Either way, Fried’s office wants to make sure Floridians don’t run low, with instructions courtesy of a new emergency order.
“During Commissioner Fried’s emergency order, packages of shell eggs will not be required to have printed certain information such as date of pack, grade, and size, although retailers will provide in-store statements with the information typically required,” a Tuesday release from Fried’s office says.
“This will allow eggs to be moved more quickly from producers to retailers.”
Without suppliers forced to go through those packaging requirements, they can be sent to grocery stores and restaurants more quickly, in theory.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently relaxed packaging requirements for shelled eggs, allowing Fried’s office flexibility to act.
“Now more than ever, Floridians need access to safe, healthy, farm-fresh foods like eggs,” Fried added in a Tuesday statement of her own.
“This order will give industry flexibility to meet increased consumer demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fully committed to working with agricultural producers and retailers to get more fresh products to consumers at this critical time.”
Even though eggs may not yet be widely out of stock, some prices have seen a huge surge in recent months. A CBS News report notes the price of a dozen Midwest large eggs rose from $1.03 at the beginning of March to $3.09 by the end of the month. That latter price is a record.
Tuesday’s order is the Agriculture Commissioner’s latest measure aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the outbreak started taking root in Florida, Fried has rolled out a number of measures aimed at keeping Floridians fed, including activating a text line and call center to help families find free meals for kids during school closures. The program is an extension of Summer BreakSpot, which helps kids in the free school lunch program get meals during summer.
Fried’s office also has duties beyond the agriculture industry, including oversight of concealed weapon permits.
Last month, she announced her office would not impose late fees for permit renewals and would also give permitholders an additional 30 days to get their paperwork in after expiration.
She also suspended all late fees on renewals and certifications for pest control, pesticide, fertilizer and animal feed licensees. An additional 30 days for annual and quarterly reporting required for those licenses was also granted.
7 comments
Thomas Knapp
April 7, 2020 at 6:15 pm
Translation: We want you to believe we’re doing you a FAVOR by taking our boot off your neck for a minute here. It was a completely unnecessary regulation before and it will be a completely unnecessary regulation later, but we’re only going to admit that it’s a completely unnecessary regulation for a limited time right now, after which you filthy serfs will need to start bending the knee again.
Pedro
April 7, 2020 at 6:21 pm
I think I would rather know when the store is putting out old eggs so that is not an unnecessary regulation.
Thomas Knapp
April 7, 2020 at 6:25 pm
“I think I would rather” is the very DEFINITION of unnecessary regulation.
Responding
April 8, 2020 at 4:51 pm
Here’s a better statement for you – I 100% absolutely HAVE to know if a store is putting out old eggs, so it is not an unnecessary regulation.
Thomas Knapp
April 8, 2020 at 4:59 pm
How is a false statement a “better” statement?
You don’t have to know if a store is putting out old eggs.
If the store isn’t telling you how old the eggs are, or if you don’t believe the store’s claim, you don’t have to buy the eggs.
The store is going to tell you how old the eggs are whether Nikki Fried is running around taking credit for them telling you how old the eggs are or not.
Just because the sun rises right after the rooster crows, it doesn’t mean that the sun is rising BECAUSE the rooster crows.
michael
April 8, 2020 at 7:50 pm
Typical….’You don’t have to know if a store is putting out old eggs.’…WRONG.
Longterm, see how fast the lawsuits fly if you think not having oversight is a ‘boot on the neck’.
Thinking that people just ‘dont have to buy the eggs’, wont fly in court.
Its people like you that dont think of the consequences.
I love it when monday morning QBs come around spouting their tripe.
BTW, speaking of false statements, ‘the store is going to tell you how old the eggs are’…WRONG again Nostradamus. Its been proven time and again if stores and/or manufacturers are not under any obligation to do a specific thing, they will either elect to do it sparingly or just opt out of doing it at all. In a situation such as this, it’ll be easiest to just say ‘we cant get that info from the manufacturer’ and so ‘we dont know’, we just know the date the eggs ‘CAME IN to the back warehouse’….not really how ‘OLD’ they are.
Its about making a buck, not consumer protection.
Thomas Knapp
April 8, 2020 at 8:35 pm
“Its about making a buck, not consumer protection.”
It’s about both, because the two go together.
You’re certainly right that one of us doesn’t have a very good handle on consequences. Or, for that matter, much of a noticeable grip on reality at all.
Comments are closed.