I would have liked to see the video of the fraudster in your article but could not find it online as promised
Can you help ?????????????

Peter Barton, Lewes,

It is stupid to buy cage eggs

John Shell, London, Uk

It is always stupid to buy or sell unprinted eggs!
If every Farm prints their eggs, then there will be no fraud!

John Shell, London, Uk

its not about tasting the difference, its about the disgusting condition these animals are kept in and the trash they are fed.

john, colwyn bay,

They only did it for a yolk.

Frank Upton, solihull,

If you really want fresh eggs from happy hens then get a chicken!

If you cannot do that there are thousands of country folk who keep a few hens in natural conditions and who usually have some to spare.

Consumers are to blame on this one. If you insist on buying produce from supermarkets you are going to get goods that are produced to a price. Get thee to a farmer's market and stuff the monopolies, not the chickens!

Foghorn Leghorn, Edinburgh,

In the UK there is a lot of checking by various associations to protect the free-range market from abuse. Checks are at the source.

What is being reported here is that the supermarkets have agreed to buy x million eggs from a supplier on the continent without checking the authenticity of the free-range supply or any of the farms the eggs were supposedly coming from. Without associations doing the work, as in the UK, this falls to the supermarkets to do it and obviously they don't bother. They just accept the word of the supplier.
What is going to be the next reported (as it's already likely to be in progress) rip-off free-range product from the glorious EU?

Consumers should only buy British free-range goods. From local suppliers if necessary.

David Thijm, Stourbridge, UK

Yet another example of why not buying from local producers whom you trust allows the ridiculous fleecing of consumers. Ethically produced food doesn't necessary cost more money to produce but the supermarkets have made it more expensive to buy this kind of food. Until the link between cost and price is restored then I'm afraid this kind of story will keep on appearing in the news because people are selfish and have no problem exploiting gullible consumers.

Jono Taylor, Bristol, UK

Why have several people pointed out that this exposes the myth about free range eggs tasting better - I thought the benefit of free range is in not contributing to the cruelty of battery farming, nothing to do with taste! And I agree with M Jeffs - Morrisons and Tescos are hardley the victims.

Sophie, London, uk

A picture of the man caught on film may help...

P S Simon, London,

Your article is thoroughly depressing. Words like 'mastermind' give power and pride to unscrupulous people and help spread dispondency among those hoping and working for a fairer world. Please ameliorate your style, thank you.

Bastin, Fourtou, France

What have the supermarkets been doing in auditing their suppliers? They make a higher profit on organic produce than normal battery eggs. If the supermarkets have been negligent in this instance for a premium product then how can they be trusted for other premium product ranges that they all push eg meat, fish from sustainable sources etc.

tim ellis, chester,

This isn't just a question of how the eggs taste - many people buy free range eggs because of the appalling conditions in which battery hens are kept. There's nothing "really funny" about that.

R Moore, Horsham,

We have long held the opinion that consumers MUST become more involved in the production of the food they eat. In the case of eggs, this means making the trip to a smallholding where you can actually SEE the chickens (as Mr Tilbury mentioned) or keeping a few hens in your garden. And before anyone starts about how impossible this is for the modern lifestyle, we keep three laying hens in our moderate-sized garden in Leeds.

A.Soussan, Leeds, West Yorkshire

it's not surprising that when buying so called "free range eggs or organic" we are duped, mislead and tricked by the supermarkets. They have all this money and power to deliver high levels of control and customer satisfaction. However this is not always the case and we the customer pay premiums for these so called free range/organic products. Just another scam with the customer who always doe's not benefit. I am sure you would research any new business who wished to work and supply your organisation.....supermarkets need to work with local suppliers and business within the U.K thus ensuring FSA regulations are being met.

Nick Sangar, Birmingham, UK

I recently began buying organic eggs because I wanted to be certain the birds that produced them were not pumped full of antibiotics, which struck me as an unhealthy method of food production, & consumed traceable food stuffs - not because I thought they would taste better. This was not a lifestyle whim & has added considerably to the family's food bill as obviously it is only logical to purchase organic chicken & turkey aswell. Therefore the revelation that there is fraud involved makes me extremely angry & I feel a large portion of the blame must be laid at the door of the supermarkets....surely it is reasonable to expect that multi million pound conglomerates who have the resources to put in place rigorous checks of the provenance & quality of the organic produce do so. I have also noticed that organic eggs approved by the Soil Assoc. which are of reliable standard, are difficult to find on the shelves of my local Tesco(3) & Sainsbury (1)

Elizabeth, Manchester,

Crikey! Is the UK really importing that many eggs?!?!

CWW, Ipswich, UK

A perfect example of why you should always buy homegrown.

Graham, Aberdeen,

"Tesco and Morrisons are among the supermarkets believed to have been victims". Victims? Give me a break. The supermarkets or any other retailers are responsible for ensuring the goods they offer the public are as described. The people that have trusted the supermarkets labelling (and who have no knowledge of EU stamp designations) are the victims.

M Jeffs, Bucks, U.K.

What is really funny is that lots of people bought these eggs and boasted of how thery could 'tell the difference'. We buy ours from a local smallholding; you can see the chickens the other side of the fence. Since this story first broke he has had trouble keeping up with demand.

Roger Tilbury, Worthing,

Since its taken so long to notice doesn't this expose the myth about organic / free range eggs tasting much better than the alternative?

Alastair, East Grinstead, West Sussex