Monday 15th March 1999

Trading Standards Competition

Eggtremely Tasty !

What Is In Here Eggactly ?

Eggtraordinarily Heavy !

Eggcess Weight !

Eggaggerated Price !

We have been finding out about the quality of the packaging and about the taste of three different easter eggs (Galaxy minstrels,Cadburys variety,Milky way)

The packaging group did a survey about which egg was the most attractive and which was the best quality. The most attractive was about how strong the packaging looked to your eyes(colour wise) and if it was worth it plus how nice it looked . The best quality was about which egg was had the strongest packaging which would protect the egg the most .

The Cadbury's Variety egg packaging looked the most attractive to me because the packaging was bold and the colours 'shot up' in your face, immediately catching my eye. The packaging did actually protect the egg from getting damaged but there was 'eggcess'. It told you the ingredients of the contents and also the weight, as did all the eggs.

We weighed the whole package with egg and contents. Then we weighed the egg alone, followed by the packaging alone. Here are the results:

Egg 1: Galaxy Minstrels

Egg 2: Cadbury's Variety

Egg 3: Milkyway

Egg	Overall Weight	Contents Weight	Packaging Weight
Galaxy Minstrels	303g	205g	100g
Cadbury's Variety	255g	195g	60g
Milkyway	140g	102g	58g

As you can see the packaging takes up approximately one third of the overall weight in each case. We think that this can be misleading for buyers when choosing an egg. We are also worried about the effect this excess packaging may have on the environment. Although they carry a 'Keep Britain Tidy' logo on the back, it is a lot of waste and a great drain on our natural resources. We were so annoyed that the price was so much extra with all the packaging that we wrote to Mars and Cadbury's. Here is a copy of the letter.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Our class of Year 6 pupils from Saint Peter's Primary School, Swinton, are researching into Easter Eggs. We are looking at their price, packaging, content, weight and taste. We have discovered that many of the eggs in the shops have packaging that is a third of the total weight.

We are concerned with the way this may mislead the customer and the amount that it adds on to the overall price. We are also worried about the amount of card and plastic being used and the negative effect this can have on the environment.

We would value your opinions and reasoning for the seemingly excess use of materials and high price when considering the weight of chocolate included.

Yours faithfully,

Class 11P

The Taste test

Scott's advice "Just let the flavour melt in your mouth !"

This was our favourite part of the project !

It was a tough decision, but we all voted on our favourite after considering a whole range of aspects on the taste. The Galaxy Minstrel egg came out the best.

Price

Cadbury's egg is the most expensive per gram whereas if you buy an ordinary bar of chocolate, for example Fuse, then it is a lot cheaper. We wondered why the price was so much more and thought that it must be the packaging of the egg that is making it more expensive.

Galaxy Minstrels was not the dearest but still a lot more expensive than the normal price of Galaxy minstrels, per gram.

The Milkyway egg was the best value for money at 0.5 pence per gram ! It was cheaper than a normal Milky Way bar even with all the packaging.

The Milkyway was the best value for money.

The comments of people working in our group

Joe: All manufacturers want is money. They need to gain more customers by asking for fairer prices.

Lloyd: I think the eggs are a reasonable price - you will not get them cheaper any where.

Joseph: Each of the eggs are overpriced and should be lowered. I wonder how much the manufacturer receives and how much the shops actually receive.

Liam: they are a little overpriced.

Louis: Some eggs are reasonable but the more packaging, the more expensive the egg is for us.

Matthew: they are slightly too dear but everyone is used to this.