David Brown reports: Chocoholics beware ,, your Easter eggs could be less of treat than you think.

Wrapping accounts for more than 40 per cent of the total weight of some eggs, according to research carried out by a consumer watchdog.

ñI hope that there are not too many children disappointed this Easter when they open their boxes and find the egg is a little smaller than expected,î said Trading Standards Service officer Steve Playle.

After weeks of unwrapping, weighing and measuring dozens of eggs, Mr Playle and his sweet-toothed colleagues have proved what most of us already knew ,, that behind the glitz of the wrapping there is often very little chocolate.

Marks and Spencer has both the best and worst eggs. Packaging accounts for 44 per cent of the total weight of its Flower Egg but just eight per cent of its milk chocolate egg with truffles. The £2.99 Quality Street egg and a £9.99 King size Mars egg each include 21 per cent packaging.

When it comes to the size of packaging the King Size Mars and Mars Starbust eggs each have 36 cubic centimetres of packaging per one gram of egg.

The star buy is the small Smarties egg produced by Nestle which has one of he lowest percentages of packing material, was the least deceptive and the cheapest.

ñAlthough we had a little bit of fun conducting this survey, there is a very serious message that we are trying to get across,î said Mr Playle.

ñExcessive packaging uses up valuable resources in its manufacture and also costs extra money to be disposed of. The law has now placed a duty on manufacturers and packers to be more responsible.

ñThe regulations have come onto the statue book very quietly and I am sure that there are lots of manufacturers who do not realise that they exist.î

Steve Playle takes a close look at this year's Easter Egg selection

BY DAVID BROWN

ædbrown@london.newsquest.co.uk

Chocoholics beware ,, your Easter eggs could be less of treat than you think.

Wrapping accounts for more than 40 per cent of the total weight of some eggs, according to research carried out by a consumer watchdog.

ñI hope that there are not too many children disappointed this Easter when they open their boxes and find the egg is a little smaller than expected,î said Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service officer Steve Playle.

After weeks of unwrapping, weighing and measuring dozens of eggs, Mr Playle and his sweet-toothed colleagues have proved what most of us already knew ,, that behind the glitz of the wrapping there is often very little chocolate.

Marks and Spencer has both the best and worst eggs. Packaging accounts for 44 per cent of the total weight of its Flower Egg but just eight per cent of its milk chocolate egg with truffles. The £2.99 Quality Street egg and a £9.99 King size Mars egg each include 21 per cent packaging.

When it comes to the size of packaging the King Size Mars and Mars Starbust eggs each have 36 cubic centimetres of packaging per one gram of egg.

The star buy is the small Smarties egg produced by Nestle which has one of he lowest percentages of packing material, was the least deceptive and the cheapest.

ñAlthough we had a little bit of fun conducting this survey, there is a very serious message that we are trying to get across,î said Mr Playle.

ñExcessive packaging uses up valuable resources and also costs extra money to be disposed of. The law has now placed a duty on manufacturers and packers to be more responsible.

ñThe regulations have come onto the statue book very quietly and I am sure that there are lots of manufacturers who do not realise that they exist.î