St Ewe’s Eggs to pasteurise eggs for sports drinks

South-west free-range egg producers St Ewe Eggs are to move into the growing sports nutrition market.

The Truro-based company plans to tap into the demand for liquid egg whites in the market after securing a £430,000 commercial loan from HSBC to purchase a state-of-the-art pasteurising unit.

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Pasteurised British liquid egg whites currently retail at £2.95/litre and are increasingly used by endurance athletes following a high-protein, low-fat diet.

The new pasteurising unit will also allow the company, which sells to Tesco and Asda in the region, to provide separated pasteurised eggs for the baking industry.

Rebecca Tonks, co-owner at St Ewe Eggs, said the new unit would help boost the business: “With the new unit installed, we will be looking to create two new jobs and boost annual profit over the next two years.”

The company run 14,000 free-range birds on the outskirts of Truro and a further 42,000 are contracted to producer partners at nearby farms.

All have the same strict high standards that enable it to be accredited with both the Lion Quality mark from the British Egg Industry Council and Freedom Foods assurance from the RSPCA.

Rebecca Tonks © Jim Wileman

Evolving needs

Stephen Hancock, HSBC’s area director of Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, said: “The team at St Ewe Eggs identified a gap in the market. The new unit will allow the business to expand and meet its growing customer bases’ evolving needs.”

St Ewe Eggs also announced that 5p from every box of its Boost the Roost-branded eggs will be donated to the charity Pancreatic Cancer UK.

Research has suggested the micronutrient selenium may help prevent the condition because of its antioxidant properties, which keep cell walls strong and resistant to damage. The company produces eggs enriched with selenium.