Scottish eggs producers earn awards for quality

Three top egg producers were honoured at the Scottish Egg Quality awards, having achieved the best scores following analysis by the Scottish Rural College (SRUC).

Each entrant sends 60 large eggs to SRUC, Ayrshire on a set day. The eggs are then marked on quality including: shell faults, shell colour, albumen height, yolk colour, shell thickness and inclusions (blood or meat spots).

Those with the highest overall scores receive “commended”, “highly commended” or “outstanding” certificates for egg quality – with an overall winner in each category.

This year – the 26th the competition has been run – Dick McGillvary of Highland Feather Fresh picked up the produce/retailer category title. This was the second time he had entered eggs from his 97,000 free-range bird unit in Tain, Ross and Cromarty. “I’m delighted to come away with this prize, it’s great to receive recognition for all the hard work we put in,” he said.

See also: Winners of the 2013 awards

Winner of the producer category was Lorna Naismith of JA Brownlie, Laurencekirk. “For my family and me it is a pat on the back for all our hard work,” she said. “My birds were 64 weeks, so I am very pleased to have such quality eggs at that age.”

Lorna Naismith of JA Brownlie is handed her gong.

And winner of the organic section – added to the other two categories for the first time – was Gillian Fowlie of JH Fowlie, Springhill Farm, where she keeps 6,000 birds as part of her family’s mixed farm. “I was shocked to have won as this was our first time entering the awards,” she said.

Gillian Fowlie of JH Fowlie is presented with her award.

The awards, which are sponsored by BOCM Pauls, were presented at Murrayshall House Hotel, Perth, with entries up 50% on last year from a wider range of producers. Many use the awards to then promote their eggs.

Roy Kerr from the Scottish Egg Producer Retailers’ Association (Sepra) said the awards were an important focal point for the Scottish egg industry. “Scottish consumers have close connections with the egg producers, making the desire to supply them with quality produce even greater”.

He also highlighted a 2% increase in production and demand for organic eggs in Scotland.