Aussies egg crazy

by OnFood

Be they scrambled, boiled, or fried, Aussies have increased their egg consumption with gusto.

Each Aussie now eats 213 eggs a year, up from 198 consumed in 2010, according to new statistics released today by the Australian Egg Corporation Ltd (AECL).

That's seven percent more eggs in the past year: part of an overall increase in popularity of a whopping 51 per cent since 2000.

So what's making us so egg crazy?

“We believe the increased consumption is due to a growing awareness of new science that proves that eggs do not increase cholesterol as previously thought and that people can safely eat 6 eggs a week (according to the Heart Foundation)," says James Kellaway, managing director of AECL.

"Not only that, new science shows that egg consumption can help people with diabetes and assist reduce obesity in the community,” he says.

The statistics also coincide with a recent push for more ethical and stringent guidelines around egg production.

With the industry producing 392 million dozen eggs during 2011 - or 12.9 million eggs each day - you'd want to hope the tens of millions of chickens concerned were getting a better deal, too.

Some big names in food, like Grill'd, The Coffee Club and The Pancake Parlour, have been honoured recently for their contribution to chicken welfare by the RSPCA.

But at first glance it doesn't seem like the everyday consumer is weighing into the cage or free-range debate too heavily.

Cage egg retail sales still total at 71 million dozen; a figure down by one per cent on 2010 levels but up by 2 per cent on the five-year average.

Yet whilst very small, that one per cent dip experienced in the last year may note the influence of recent ethics debate.

Looking at where a lot of the growth is also shows we may be more inclined towards free range than before.

Sales for this variety reached 43 million, up by a massive 24 per cent on 2010 levels and up by 64 per cent on the five-year average.

Barn-laid retail egg sales fell to total 11 million dozen, down by 3 per cent, but increased by 64 per cent over five years.

But in terms of market share, cage eggs are still ahead at 55 per cent.

“The increase in free range retail sales was driven, in part, by the lowest free range retail prices since 2006," says Kellaway.

Overall, the industry sold $523.5 million dollars worth of eggs: and that's not counting all the eggs that get sold as byproduct and make their way into large scale food production.

“While Australians have increased their egg consumption in the past two years, Mexicans and Japanese eat considerably more eggs than us," says Kellaway.

"According to the International Egg Commission, Mexicans ate a whopping 365 eggs while Japanese people ate 324 eggs in the past year."

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Comments:

Tuesday, February 07, 2012 by

The figures are probably much higher but AECL have no way of reporting those eaten by home producers.

Lack of trust in egg labelling has meant that the industry is driving home egg production so that consumers can be sure that their eggs are actually free range.

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