NEW DELHI: India’s food safety regulator, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has started collecting egg samples of a popular brand to test its quality following uproar over a viral video that claimed that it contained traces of a banned, potentially cancer‑linked substance.

The FSSAI, which regulates the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food articles has asked it’s food safety officers to collect samples of both branded and unbranded eggs for testing at its laboratories across the country, official sources said.

Controversy started when a video on social media claimed that Eggoz contained nitorfurans, an anti-biotic which is banned on food producing animals, though residues can still appear in eggs due to illegal usages. Officials said regional offices have been asked to collect egg samples for testing. The tests will be conducted in 10 laboratories across the country.

However, Eggoz, in their statement said that the firm will share the lab reports publicly on their website. The company also assured the public of “safety and trust.”

“As promised, the latest lab reports of Eggoz egg samples (December 25) are available, and we are sharing them openly for everyone’s reference at www.eggoz.com. At Eggoz, the safety and trust of our consumers mean everything to us. Thank you for your patience and for giving us the opportunity to clarify the facts, we will continue to upload the highest standards across the farms and processes,” the company said in their statement.

The European Union has banned the use of Nitrofurans in food-producing animals.