Barbados Investigates Use of Banned Polystyrene in Egg Packaging

An investigation has been launched into reports of eggs being sold in trays made of banned polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam, Environment Minister Adrian Forde confirmed on Wednesday.

A Barbados TODAY investigation revealed the foam plastic boxes came with the importation of eggs by a major egg provider that claimed it would be too expensive to pack the eggs in the biodegradable packaging that replaced the banned plastic.

Officials from the Division of Commerce are expected to visit supermarkets to assess the containers and test them to determine whether they are in fact made of substances prohibited under Barbadian law, Forde said.

Photos circulating on social media showed imported eggs being sold in a supermarket in containers carrying the Hillandale Farms brand, with a caption questioning who would face penalties – the importer or the retailer – for the apparent use of polystyrene packaging, which violates the ban.

Hillandale Farms is one of the largest suppliers of chicken eggs in the United States.

Barbados TODAY confirmed sighting the eggs in containers in the refrigerated section of at least one supermarket. But, the store’s operations manager declined to comment and referred the team to the eggs’ source, Chickmont Foods Ltd.

Trevor Gunby, the head of Chickmont’s egg division, explained that the company imported a container of eggs due to shortages over Christmas 2023, and the January and February 2024 periods.

“We brought in the eggs because of the shortage that existed…and they came in dozen-containers,” he said, noting the eggs were distributed in the same packaging they were imported in.

Asked if the eggs could have been repackaged, Gunby said that would incur costs that could not be passed on to the consumer: “We would have had to buy dozen-boxes to repack them but it was just a stopgap to stop the shortage. It is not anything that continues. Unfortunately, they came the way they are….This is a genuine mistake that took place.”

Minister Forde said he was unaware of the matter but promised an investigation, explaining it can be difficult to differentiate between banned petroleum-based plastics and permitted compostable materials just by looking at them.

“We have had reports in the past and sometimes when tests are done, persons are within the ambit of the law as it relates to compostable material. So the officers from the Division of Commerce will go out and get it tested and if the person contravenes the law, the law is there to speak for itself [in terms of penalties],” he said.