Bhubaneswar, April 23: Foodies in the state are caught in a quandary over the scare of "plastic" eggs. On the one hand, social media is awash with viral videos of manufacturing and production of "plastic" eggs, while on the other, the government has rubbished these claims.

Health minister Pradip Amat on Friday asked the food safety commissioner to conduct raids, collect samples and send those for tests following reports that artificially prepared eggs, colloquially known as "Chinese eggs", had flooded the wholesale and retail market. Following up on Amat's direction, the food safety commissioner had asked all district food safety officers, additional district medical officers (public health) of all 30 districts and city health officers of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Puri to collect samples.

Today, the state fisheries and animal resources development department (FARD) rubbished allegations and said eggs were fit for consumption.

FARD's commissioner-cum-secretary Bishnupada Sethi said: "Not a single plastic egg has been found in the state market so far. We request any resident of the state, who finds such an egg, to bring the matter to the notice of the authorities concerned."

Other officials in the department also said the manufacturing cost of plastic eggs would be much higher than the market price of natural ones and, as such, such a business would not make financial sense. "Though a number of people have brought such allegations, no one has approached us with samples of plastic eggs. People should not be panic," said one department official.

However, the sale of eggs in the city has been hit as consumers remain sceptical about the quality of the produce. Several vendors in the city are apprehending further loss of business before the situation can improve.

"I used to sell around 10,000 eggs on a daily basis. But ever since the matter surfaced, I am unable to reach even half that number," said Md Anwar, a vendor at Unit IV. The vendors wanted the government to come out with a clarification on the matter at the earliest possible.

"Most customers are asking us about the authenticity of the eggs, but we don't have an answer. The government should intervene and act against those spreading rumours," said Babuli Nayak, a vendor at Khandagiri.

Consumers , however, remain confused.

Bhubaneswar residentDeepak Panigrahi told The Telegraph: "Plastic egg rumour has gone viral on social media. The government should ensure that no such eggs are being sold in the market as it can cause health hazards."