Eggs 'superfood' claim boosts poultry farmers

A new study, due to be published in the Nutrition & Food Science journal in the next few weeks will say that eggs are one of the most nutrient-dense foods that money can buy and people should be eating at least one egg a day.

Researchers found that eggs can play an important role in weight management and dieting and could even help prevent age-related macular degeneration – an eye condition that can lead to blindness.

The news will come as a welcome boon to many poultry farmers who have endured a number of unhelpful claims about the health properties of eggs in the past two decades. The sector is also preparing for the necessity of having to invest large sums of money in new cage technologies in order to comply with new European laws on how chickens are kept.

The colony cage systems will bring to an end the battery hen practice in the UK but will entail large scale capital outlays from farmers who are already feeling the pinch.

Sales of eggs have fallen by one per cent in terms of both value and volume in the last 12 months with free range eggs the only type to have seen growth, with volume increases of seven per cent.

Free Range eggs account for over 63 per cent of total egg sales but organic eggs have seen the strongest decline in sales, despite falling prices over the last year.

This decline in sales is likely to be due to a decline in distribution of 17 per cent. The report identifies specific groups who could particularly benefit from eating more eggs including children, teenagers and older adults as well as heavy meat-eaters and those not consuming milk.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, a dietician and one of the report's chief authors, said: "The health benefits of eggs would appear to be so great that it's perhaps no exaggeration to call them a superfood.

"Eggs are not only low in calories but are packed with nutrients that are essential to healthy living.

"They are an ideal food at every stage of life, as well as being easy to cook and enjoyable to eat."

Andrew Parker, chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said: "The UK egg industry has been working hard for decades to establish eggs as a healthy and economical fast food.

"This study takes last year's good news about cholesterol a step further by saying that far from worrying about the number of eggs we eat, most people would actually benefit from increasing consumption."

Eggs were also in the news this week when a study of 2,000 UK parents suggests children will eat more than eight chocolate eggs at Easter, six times the amount of real eggs they will eat over the Easter weekend.