Healthy eggs experience healthy sales
Retail egg sales have risen again, bolstered by a new report which reveals they have a higher nutritional content than previously thought.
The total retail egg market volume is up by around 6%, and value is up by 5.5% to around £830m, marking a fifth consecutive year of growth. In 2011 the market increased by 3.6%.
Andrew Joret, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) said these figures came as “no surprise”, but there was still “room for further growth, and as an industry we will continue to do whatever we can to increase consumption and drive awareness of the benefits of eggs”.
The BEIC has also announced the release of a report which provides the first update on the nutrient content of eggs since the 1980s. It is due to be published in December’s issue of the British Nutrition Foundation’s Nutrition Bulletin.
The research found eggs now contain less fat and calories than their 1980s counterparts, have 70% more vitamin D, and double the selenium – a trace mineral of which small amounts are essential for good health. Results also reveal eggs to be a good source of the essential nutrient choline and omega 3 fatty acids – the first time this has been measured in eggs.
The changes in nutrition are believed to be derived from improvements in hens’ feed: alongside replacing meat and bonemeal with vegetable oils, synthetic feed has improved the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and the take-up of nutrients.
Also attributed to the nutritional gains are an increase in the average ratio between white and yolk, and improved measuring techniques.
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